Pubdate: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1998 Associated Press. Title: by MAP BANK SUING U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE FOR $4 MILLION CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A Venezuelan bank is suing the U.S. Customs Service for the $4 million it says it lost during an undercover sting operation, bank officials said Wenesday. U.S. Customs agents allegedly used the money during Operation Casablanca to mount a money-laundering scheme using two accounts in Banco Industrial de Venezuela's Miami branch, bank president Rafael Pena told The Associated Press. Lawyers for Banco Industrial filed the lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles earlier this month, Pena said. Bill Anthony, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs Service, said officials in their Washington and Los Angeles offices had no knowledge of the lawsuit. He acknowledged, however, that it could have been filed elsewhere in the country. Operation Casablanca resulted in 160 indictments, including at least two dozen Mexican bankers and five Venezuelan bankers representing four banks. Many of them were lured to the United States where they were arrested. - --- Checked-by: Richard Lake