DEA Bust in Puerto Rico'

[JJ_BPK]

I'll buy a round for the boys..

Wonder how many TSA were involved?? as perps??

DEA makes smuggling arrests in Puerto Rico airport
10:13 AM ET, 06/06/2012 - Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- U.S. federal agents say they raided Puerto Rico's international airport and other areas early Wednesday, arresting at least 33 people suspected of smuggling millions of dollars' worth of drugs aboard commercial flights.

Three other suspects were arrested in the U.S.: two workers at Miami's international airport and another at the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The suspects were members of two Puerto Rico-based drug trafficking organizations that would work with each other, and one of them was run by a woman, officials said.

"We have dismantled the two most significant drug operations at the airport," said Pedro Janer, acting special agent in charge of the DEA's Caribbean division.

The suspects are accused of helping move thousands of pounds (kilograms) of cocaine and several pounds (kilograms) of heroin from Puerto Rico to several U.S. cities including Miami and Newark, New Jersey, from 1999 to 2009, according to the DEA.

At least 45 arrest warrants were issued in the combined operations, 12 of them targeting current or former employees of American Airlines, according to the DEA. Several other warrants were issued for workers at Ground Motive Dependable, a company that provides baggage handling services for the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan. Officials with American Airlines and Ground Motive Dependable said they would soon issue statements.

DEA agents also sought to arrest one employee with Cape Air and a government worker with Puerto Rico'sPort Authority.

Janer said the workers would enter the airport with drugs in their bags, on themselves or in their cars and then hand it over to someone else inside airport bathrooms once they cleared security.

Some of the drugs belonged to Angel Ayala Vazquez, once considered Puerto Rico's top drug dealer and better known as "Angelo Millones", according to the DEA. He was captured in 2009 following a seven-year investigation and was later convicted.

The arrests are a continuation of a September 2009 operation that targeted nine American Airlines workers accused of participating in the same drug ring. Federal authorities arrested ground crews with Ground Motive Dependable on similar charges in August 2010.

Puerto Rico is a major drug shipment point in the Caribbean, and the U.S. territory is seeking more federal funding to fight drug trafficking, with officials noting that more than 70 percent of the cocaine that arrives on the island is destined for the mainland.

"Congress has recognized there's a problem," said Hector Pesquera, Puerto Rico's new police chief, adding that it should be easier to catch drug traffickers because drugs only arrive by air or water. "It's not that difficult. We don't have tunnels. They can't drive it here."

In the last two years, the DEA and other agencies have reported an increase in the size of cocaine shipments seized around Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nearly 8,200 pounds (3,700 kilograms) have been seized as of May this year, compared with 10,800 pounds (4,900 kilograms) seized last year and more than 8,300 pounds (3,800 kilograms) in 2010.

Gov. Luis Fortuno said he is requesting more equipment and personnel for the Coast Guard, the DEA and other federal agencies to help reduce the number of drugs trafficked through the island.

"This is an issue of national security," he said, "not just of Puerto Rico."

[greenberetTFS]

Wonder if Brian was in on this?.......

Big Teddy

[SF_BHT]

YES......
Boy has it been a long night.

TSA had better watch out we are watching.

[craigepo]

Brian, I have a question: I presume these cases will go to trial in Puerto Rico. Also, I would guess that they would be tried in Federal, not state/territory/puerto rico court. Do they hold court in English or Spanish?

[SF_BHT]

Federal right here and in English.

We even have a Fed Detention facility. The problem is we keep filling it up every week. Buisness is good here.

You know how you find out if a person is a crook here?........... Ask him is they are Puerto Rican....

Originally Posted by SF_BHT

Federal right here and in English.

We even have a Fed Detention facility. The problem is we keep filling it up every week. Buisness is good here.

You know how you find out if a person is a crook here?........... Ask him is they are Puerto Rican....

Good thing I am only half, then.
There are three kinds of Puerto Ricans. Those who have commited a crime, those commiting a crime, and those about to commit a crime.

Nice bust.