Stan and I tracked the 1993-1994 air movements to Angola through Ndjili International Airport. In a 2 month period, the parking apron at NIA went from 3 or 4 a/c to a fleet of some 30 or so A/C. The mainstay was the Lockheed L-188 (P3 airframe) that serves as a poor man's C-130 with its 4 turbos.

The most extravagant case was a DC-8 that made a rough field landing, burned its brakes, and returned. Made a 250K profit after repairs. The funniest was an An2 with bovine bedpans--the plan was to fly cows in at $4K a head.

Prosecutors allege that corruption in the Angolan arms trading case went to the pinnacle of power in France, starting with a nod from the son of then-President Francois Mitterrand, and growing into a tangle of laundered money and parallel diplomacy that left a stain on France's relations with Africa and on the country's reputation in the global arms market.

Jean-Christophe Mitterrand and 41 other defendants feature in the climax of what the French dub "Angolagate."
Ah Jean-Christophe--should be called Mr. Genocide.

Tom