Pubdate: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 Source: New York Post (NY) Copyright: 1999, N.Y.P. Holdings, Inc. Contact: http://nypostonline.com/ Author: Devlin Barrett Page:2 COLONEL'S WIFE SENT COKE INTO US The wife of the former top U.S. military commander overseeing the anti drug effort in Colombia was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court yesterday on drug smuggling charges, sources told The Post. According to court papers, Laurie Hiett; admitted mailing packages containing cocaine to addresses in Jackson Heights Queens, as well as Manhattan, but said she did it as a favor to her husband's chauffeur and did not know what was inside. She was released on bond after her court appearance on a criminal complaint, sources said. Federal agents intercepted one of the packages in late May and found approximately a pound and a half of cocaine inside, sources said. The sources said a Queens man was also arrested in the investigation. His job was allegedly to pick up the packages for a fee and deliver them to someone else. The final recipient was not known. Hiett is the wife of Col. James Hiett, who was removed as commander of the 200 plus military outfit assigned to run counternarcotics operations with the Colombian government after the allegations surfaced. An Army spokesman said an internal military investigation had cleared the colonel of any involvement in any criminal activity. It was not clear how officials first learned about the packages, but when they began investigating, they reviewed Customs forms. That led them to the wife of another serviceman assigned to Bogota, who claimed she sent a package to New York as a favor to Laurie Hiett, according to the Village Voice, which reported portions of the story on its Web site. Authorities eventually intercepted that package and discovered cocaine inside, the paper said. The two-continent investigation comes at an extremely sensitive time in the U.S. anti-drug efforts in Colonmbia. White House drug czar General Barry McCaffrey flew to Bogota last week after five American soldiers died on airborne anti narcotics maneuvers in a remote part of the country. The crash raised new questions about American antidrug troops being used against Marxist guerrillas operating in the same jungle areas that produce most of the world's cocaine. After the crash, McCaffrey said the U.S. needed to re examine the official policy of non involvement in the civil war because the rebel forces may now be financing their cause by becoming more active in the massive drug trade. McCaffrey's comments sparked immediate concern from some in Congress who compared America's involvement in Colombia to its relationship with Vietnam in 1964. McCaffrey said he would like Washington to double the $250 million a year spent on anti drug efforts in the region. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart