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The head of the US Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airlines jets before learning that the airline did not truly possess the planes – and that the aircraft lacked engines.

This strange anecdote was detailed in a investigation released on Friday, which recounted how the secretary and a former campaign manager had recently arranged to buy ten Boeing 737 planes from the airline. Sources with knowledge informed the outlet that the two intended to use the planes to increase deportation flights – and for personal travel.

Those sources also claimed that ICE officials had cautioned them that purchasing aircraft would be far more expensive than simply expanding existing flight contracts.

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Complicating matters further, the airline, which filed for bankruptcy proceedings for the second instance in the summer, did not own the aircraft and their engines would have had to be acquired separately. The plan has since been paused, according to the investigation.

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

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard entered into a single-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace to acquire two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for you and the deputy, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200m,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to the DHS.

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

The legislature had earlier approved the termed “major immigration bill” in the summer, which dedicates roughly $170 billion for immigration-related and border-related operations, a sum that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most heavily funded federal agency in the federal government.

In the autumn, it was reported that the government was moving individuals detained as part of its deportation agenda in ways that breached their legal rights, often by plane.

Leaked data reviewed from charter airline Global Crossing detailed the journeys of tens of thousands of individuals who have been shuttled around the country before deportation.