Two former air force pilots have gone on trial in France almost six years after 26 suitcases stashed with cocaine were found on board their plane in the Dominican Republic.

The two Frenchmen, Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos, were arrested and sentenced in the Caribbean nation but fled to the French Antilles while on bail.

They were re-arrested after they reached the French mainland.

Seven other defendants are also facing charges over the same

They could face up to 30 years in jail if found guilty.

The case, which was quickly dubbed “Air Cocaine”, first hit the headlines in March 2013 when Dominican police opened the suitcases on board a Falcon jet in the resort town of Punta Cana to find them stuffed with 680kg (1,500lb) of cocaine.

case.