The body of an Australian pilot who died in a puzzling plane crash in Brazil has not yet been claimed while authorities in at least five countries attempt to track down his criminal associates.
At the age of 46, Timothy James Clark was piloting over Coruripe, a coastal town in Brazil’s Alagoas region, when his aircraft went down at approximately 1:30 pm on September 14.
Clark was the sole occupant when he died on board the kit aircraft, surrounded by Australian snacks and 200kg of SpaceX-branded bricks of cocaine .
Clark’s father was unaware of his son’s death until informed by the Daily Mail 48 hours later. Brazilian officials have now officially identified the body.
But Brazilian authorities told local media in the past week that his remains had not yet been claimed by any family member or legal representative.
Authorities informed Brazilian media that if the body remains unclaimed for 30 days, it might be interred as a homeless person through an administrative process.
Clark’s father did not respond to Daily Mail inquiries on Tuesday about his son’s remains.
Clark’s burial in a pauper’s grave would mark a sad end to a man who was renowned for living the high life and was known as The Broker online.
At the time of Clark’s death, the Daily Mail reported that he was a director and secretary for numerous investment firms that had been active in Australia and Africa over the years.
Timothy James Clark lived the high life before winding up dead in a plane crash linked to a massive international drug ring
Once a successful stock market trader known online as The Broker, Clark owned several companies, including Stock Assist Group Pty Ltd, Gurney Capital Nominees Pty Ltd, TJC Nominees Pty Ltd, Bluenergy Asia Pty Ltd, and Tick-Tack-Toe Pty Ltd, with varying registration statuses.
Stock Assist Group owned millions of dollars’ worth of shares in Western Australian mining company Victory Mines and underwrote millions more in Classic Minerals, according to stockholder reports.
It has since been reported Clark may have been involved with sinister characters both in Australia and abroad.
His father revealed that his son had been living in South Africa for years.
Independent news website Bellingcat linked Clark to several underworld identities, including a known associate to high ranking members of the Kinahan cartel.
That associate, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is currently facing charges in Western Australia for importing a multimillion-dollar cocaine shipment.
The operation involved cocaine flights from South America to Australia, mirroring Clark’s routes.
The alleged drug dealer is also a South African resident.
Authorities found 200kg of drugs in the wreckage of the plane fuselage
Tests confirmed the substance to be cocaine and carried Elon Musk’s SpaceX branding
Clark’s wrecked plane in Brazil
Evidence uncovered by Bellingcat, including flight records and communications, indicated Clark collaborated with the alleged drug dealer on drug runs, placing Clark within the cartel’s supply chain.
A 2018 restaurant review posted by Clark included a photo that showed the pair dining together in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, Bellingcat reported.
The Kinahan cartel is a major Irish transnational organised crime syndicate alleged to be the most powerful in Ireland and one of the largest organised crime groups in the world. It is also established in the UK, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates.
Clark reportedly frequently used Tripadvisor to post reviews, including about chartering a catamaran in Bali and the VIP service at a Saint-Tropez bar where he spent €5,500 on ‘ultra top-shelf’ drinks.
The publication claimed Clark also left Tripadvisor reviews for two Zimbabwean venues – the Amanzi Lodge and Thetford Estate – which Christy ‘Dapper Don’ Kinahan later attended, according to the cartel leader’s own Google Maps profile.
South African news outlet City Press reported that Clark also operated a second aircraft for ‘legitimate’ flights – a Beechcraft King Air 350.
The report coincided with Daily Mail revelations Clark had access to a larger aircraft more suited to the drug drop he was killed performing.
Clark’s plane crashed about an 11-hour flight from the Amazon basin, a region that has become a major trafficking route for cocaine bound for Europe.
Timothy James Clark shared his experiences on a popular travel site
Timothy James Clark on one of many international adventures
Timothy James Clark enjoyed the company of women
Testing identified the drugs found onboard as cocaine, and were wrapped in bricks carrying the SpaceX branding of Elon Musk’s spacecraft and rocket division.
Local law enforcement estimated the seizure was worth around nine million Brazilian Real (around AU$2.5million) to the shipment’s drug lords.
But while it remains unclear where the illicit substances were intended to be sold, 200kg of cocaine would have an estimated street value of $80million in Australia.
The Sunday Times reported Clark and his associate’s alleged activities suggested the Kinahan cartel had opened new smuggling routes for smaller shipments following a succession of seizures of cocaine consignments by police forces across Europe.
