The Dominican Republic says it is seeking the extradition of two French nationals who were convicted of smuggling cocaine but subsequently fled the island in the Caribbean.
The men, both pilots, were arrested in 2013 and sentenced to 20 years in prison after police found the drugs on their plane.
Dominican Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito said his office was in contact with the French authorities "to determine how they escaped the country, and their accomplices".
"It doesn't make the slightest sense that a foreigner accused of drug trafficking should be granted a relaxed form of restrictions," he said.
"We are proceeding with a request for an international arrest warrant for the pilots involved."
France denied it had anything to do with their escape.
"The decision of Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos to return to France was a decision individual to them, " said a statement issued by the French embassy in Santo Domingo.
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