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The secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airline jets before discovering that the airline did not truly possess the aircraft – and that the planes were missing engines.

This bizarre anecdote was contained in a report released on Friday, which recounted how the secretary and a former political strategist had recently attempted to buy ten Boeing 737 planes from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the pair intended to use the planes to increase removal flights – and for private use.

Those insiders also stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had warned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply expanding current charter agreements.

ICE facing intense criticism after footage reportedly shows unresponsive individual holding child during detention.

Making the situation more complex, the airline, which entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second instance in August, did not own the jets and their engines would have had to be acquired independently. The proposal has since been paused, according to the investigation.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the House funding panel said in October that during this fall's historically lengthy federal shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already purchased two Gulfstream aircraft for $200 million.

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

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but refused to provide additional clarification.

Congress had earlier approved the so-called “major immigration bill” in the summer, which dedicates roughly $170 billion for immigration-related and border security operations, a sum that makes ICE the most heavily funded federal agency in the US government.

In September, it was reported that the government was moving immigrants held as part of its removal program in ways that violated their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Leaked data reviewed from charter airline GlobalX detailed the travels of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been shuttled around the nation before deportation.