DJ jailed for selling 60,000 fake aircraft components

Updated | By Skyye Ndlovu

Instead of dropping beats, he dropped fake airplane parts into the aviation industry

Some DJs drop beats and others drop… fake airplane parts apparently.

In one of the strangest crime stories to come out of the aviation world, a techno DJ has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison after selling more than 60,000 fake aircraft parts to airlines around the world.

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According to reports by the BBC, Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, known in the techno scene as Santa Militia, admitted to running a massive fraud operation through his company AOG Technics.

Instead of mixing music in a club, prosecutors say Zamora Yrala was mixing fake paperwork with real aircraft parts.

Operating largely from his garage, he allegedly bought items like engine blades, bolts, and washers then resold them with falsified documents claiming they were certified aviation components.

Those parts eventually made their way onto passenger planes around the world.

Investigators say more than 60,000 counterfeit parts were sold.

According to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, the scheme potentially endangered passengers worldwide.

Emma Luxton, Director of Operations at the agency, said the DJ had “endangered public safety worldwide on an unimaginable scale.”

At one point in 2023, multiple planes had to be grounded after airlines discovered they had been fitted with parts supplied by AOG Technics.

One of the airlines affected included American Airlines, which had aircraft temporarily taken out of service while the suspect parts were investigated.

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Authorities believe Zamora Yrala made more than £7 million (around $9 million) from the operation.

However, the damage to the aviation industry was far bigger.

Prosecutors estimate airlines may have lost around £40 million ($53 million) dealing with grounded aircraft, inspections, and replacement parts.

That’s not the scariest part though. Investigators still don’t fully know where many of the parts originally came from.