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The secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security allegedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airlines jets before discovering that the carrier did not actually own the planes – and that the planes were missing power plants.

This strange incident was contained in a investigation released on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a former political strategist had recently attempted to purchase 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from the airline. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the pair intended to use the jets to increase deportation flights – and for personal travel.

Those insiders also stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had cautioned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply increasing existing flight contracts.

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Making the situation more complex, the airline, which entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in August, did not possess the jets and their engines would have had to be bought separately. The proposal has since been halted, according to the report.

In the interim, Democratic lawmakers on the House appropriations committee said in October that during this season's record-long government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already purchased two Gulfstream jets for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard signed a sole source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace to acquire two new G700 luxury aircraft to support travel for you and the deputy secretary, at a cost to the public of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a letter to the department.

A DHS spokesperson informed the outlet that some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were inaccurate but declined to provide further details.

The legislature had previously authorized the termed “big, beautiful bill” in July, which dedicates roughly $170 billion for immigration-related and border security operations, a amount that makes ICE the most well-funded federal agency in the US government.

In September, it was revealed that the administration was transporting individuals held as part of its deportation agenda in ways that violated their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Leaked data examined from private airline GlobalX outlined the journeys of tens of thousands of individuals who have been shuttled around the nation before removal.