Pubdate: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press POLICE SEIZED COCAINE ABOARD BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE PLANE RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) Federal police seized 77 pounds of cocaine aboard a Brazilian Air Force cargo plane and are investigating possible links between military personnel and drug traffickers, the Air Force Ministry said Tuesday. The drugs were found Monday on a Hercules C-130 bound for Palma de Mallorca, Spain, where it was scheduled to pick up spare parts for Brazilian military aircraft, the ministry press office said. The plane departed from the Rio de Janeiro air base Sunday and made a refueling stop in the northeastern city of Recife, where the drugs were detected by drug-sniffing dogs. The pilot and eight crew members were detained pending further investigation. The drugs were found in two suitcases, which the pilot told investigators he had received from a fellow officer based in Manaus, capital of the jungle state of Amazonas, according to an O Globo newspaper report. The pilot was asked to deliver the suitcases to an unidentified individual in Spain, the newspaper said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea