June 27 (UPI) -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said his team had nothing to do with the trafficking of cocaine by a Brazilian Air Force sergeant on a plane bound for the G-20 summit in Japan, calling the act "unacceptable."
"Although it was unrelated to my team, I demanded immediate investigation and severe punishment of the person responsible for the narcotic material found on the [Air Force] plane," he said in a Tweet Wednesday. "We will not tolerate such disrespect to our country."
Spanish police arrested the Air Force sergeant in possession of 39 kilos of cocaine on Tuesday during a layover in Seville before the Brazilian envoy took off for Japan, Le Pais reported.
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The Brazilian Ministry of Defense confirmed the arrest in a statement, stating it condemns the act and will collaborate with authorities.
Following the arrest, Bolsonaro, who was traveling in a separate plane, said via Twitter the accused would be "judged and convicted" under the law.
The plane was carrying a military delegation for Bolsonaro's protection for the summit set to take place in Tokyo on June 28 and 29.
The news follows Bolsonaro having enacted a new drug policy the month prior to tough penalties for traffickers while requiring drug users to undergo rehabilitation and those who sell the drug to be subjected to longer jail sentences, the Guardian reported.
