Pubdate: Sun, 27 Aug 2000
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  PO Box 120191, San Diego, CA, 92112-0191
Fax: (619) 293-1440
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/
Forum: http://www.uniontrib.com/cgi-bin/WebX
Author: Lenny Savino, Knight Ridder News Service

COLOMBIAN WHO USED ARMADA TO SMUGGLE COCAINE CAPTURED

U.S. Details Aug. 16 Arrest In Venezuela

WASHINGTON -- A Colombian drug kingpin who used an armada of 10 commercial 
freighters to ship 68 tons of cocaine to south Florida and Europe is under 
arrest, federal agents announced yesterday.

Authorities described the Aug. 16 capture of Ivan de la Vega, 48, by police 
in Venezuela as cutting off "the head of the snake," and said it was a 
"major blow" to the Colombian drug trade, which yearly exports an estimated 
300 tons of cocaine.

The announcement of the arrests came days before a visit to Colombia and 
other Latin American nations by President Clinton to boost efforts to fight 
the drug trade. Kelly said yesterday's announcement was unrelated to 
Clinton's trip. But other government sources said the announcement was 
accelerated to draw attention to the president's visit.

During the past three years, de la Vega's ring bought or leased mostly 
Greek freighters to transport drugs in hidden compartments from the coast 
of Colombia to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and such European ports as Amsterdam, 
authorities said.

The ships would hover 100 miles off the Colombian coast and receive their 
illegal cargo from high-powered cigarette boats speeding from jungle 
manufacturing plants onshore.

Crews of the freighters were paid from $3,000 for deck hands to $30,000 for 
the captain to smuggle the drugs, according to seized logs. Most of the 
cocaine was delivered to Europe, a more profitable market where the street 
price of a kilogram is $50,000. The same amount costs $1,700 in Colombia 
and $25,000 in the United States, agents said.

U.S. Customs Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the ring was unique because 
of the "staggering amount" of drugs -- worth $3 billion on the street -- 
that were being shipped and the "expansive reach" of the organization to 12 
countries: Colombia, the United States, Albania, Belgium, France, Greece, 
Italy, the Netherlands, Panama, Spain, Great Britain and Venezuela.

Venezuelan authorities arrested de la Vega along with Luis Antonio Navia, a 
Colombian described as a "major investor" who was wanted on prior drug 
trafficking charges in the United States.

The pair was handed over to U.S. authorities in Miami on Aug. 19, where 
they were charged with conspiring to traffic cocaine. They are being held 
without bond. U.S. authorities waited for Venezuelan police to raid a 
storage facility with more than 4 tons of cocaine before announcing the 
arrests.

An additional 41 suspects, including crew members of the freighters and 
Greek organized-crime figures have been arrested in several countries, 
authorities said.

During a two-year investigation, more than 24 tons of cocaine, worth about 
$1 billion, were seized from five ships headed for U.S. and European ports 
by a task force of agents from the Customs Service, the Drug Enforcement 
Administration and the Coast Guard who were monitoring the deliveries. The 
68-ton estimate was based on what informants told authorities was delivered 
during the past three years.

"Certainly this is a major blow to the Colombian cartels in the short 
term," Kelly said. "But no one is claiming victory in the war on drugs."
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