On 16 May, media reports began circulating about a Ukrainian cargo plane bound for Libya being detained due to carrying undeclared explosives.
The airplane in question is a Ukrainian Antonov An-12B turboprop heavy cargo aircraft, operated by Cavok Air, which is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian cargo carrier established in 2011, specialized in international charter flights. The plane carried 7,656 kg of oilwell explosives (UN0440; shaped charges without detonator).
Flight CVK-7078 arrived from Houston, USA, via Nassau, Bahamas, on 14 May at 18.08 (local) for a technical & refuelling stop at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Immigration officers discovered explosives that had not been declared in line with international aviation-security procedures. Authorities detained the aircraft and questioned the Ukrainian crew while customs, airport police, intelligence, and United States border investigators examined the cargo and documentation with help from AIRCOP, a UN-backed airport interdiction program against illicit trafficking.
Allegedly, the crew gave ‘reasonable answers,’ linking the explosives to mining, quarrying, and underwater work. Authorities ultimately cleared the aircraft to continue toward North Africa after questioning determined that the pilot and co pilot bore no responsibility, attributing the issue instead to a documentation error by the cargo company.
The aircraft departed on 16 May at 10.50 and arrived at 20.46 at Espargos, Cape Verde. At 22.37 the aircraft took off for Nouakchott, Mauritania, where it arrived on 17 May at 01.11. On 18 May, it took off at 12.59 and flew via Algeria and Tunisia to Tripoli-Mitiga where it landed at 09.01.