Pubdate: Thursday, August 26, 1999
Source: Toronto Star (Canada)
Copyright: 1999, The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Page: A10
Author: Meg Richards, Associated Press

U.S. DRUG STING NETS AIRLINE STAFF

50 Airport Workers Indicted In Miami Smuggling Ring, 
8 More In New York

MIAMI -- Dozens of American Airlines ramp workers and contract
employees were arrested and charged yesterday in a ring that
investigators said smuggled cocaine and marijuana into the United
States in food carts, garbage bags and carry-on luggage.

The bust is believed to be the biggest set of drug arrests involving a
U.S. airline.

The arrests resulted from two sting operations, one of which was
prompted in part when a pilot complained last year that his coffee
tasted weak. Investigators discovered 7 kilograms of heroin in coffee
packs aboard an American plane.

The airline employees flew 300 kilograms of fake cocaine into Miami
aboard flights from Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador, then used their
free airline passes to get the drugs on to flights to Washington,
Baltimore, Philadelphia and other cities in the northeastern United
States, said U.S. AttorneyTom Scott.

The defendants also allegedly smuggled guns and explosives that
undercover agents had given them.

They were uniformed but off duty, and carried the drugs aboard in
backpacks or placed packages aboard while the planes sat on the ground
in supposedly secure areas, Scott said.

At least 50 people were indicted on drug charges, including 30
American baggage handlers and ground crew workers at Miami
International Airport, where American is the largest carrier. It is
also the biggest U.S. airline serving Latin America.

There were so many suspects arrested the DEA had to borrow a bus to
hold them all while they were booked and fingerprinted.

Eight people -- including seven American Airlines employees -- were
also indicted in New York in a similar case.

Also, officials in Colombia identified American as the airline used by
10 Colombians charged over the weekend with smuggling more than a
half-tonne of heroin to Miami.

At least twice, undercover agents paid ramp workers to carry hand
grenades and guns aboard, then substituted dummy weapons to avoid
endangering passengers.

Scott said that the going price to smuggle grenades aboard was
$7,000.

"One of the defendants did show some concern. He was worried about
blowing himself up when he carried it on to the airplane," said
Patricia Galupo, special agent in charge of the U.S. Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' Miami office.

"Greed is the bottom line. They did it all for a price," said Ed
Halley, an agency spokesperson.

In the Miami and New York cases, no one in management was arrested,
and no American pilots or flight attendants were indicted.

American said it has co-operated with investigators and blamed a
"small group of employees."

"This is a company with zero tolerance for illegal drugs," said Larry
Wansley, American's managing director of corporate security.

Many of the defendants face life in prison if convicted.

In addition to 30 American employees, 13 current or former employees
of LSG/Sky Chefs, a food service contractor owned by the Canadian
company Onex Corp. and Lufthansa Airlines, were indicted in the sting.

Sky Chefs couldn't be reached for comment.

Onex Corp. and American Airlines recently announced plans to buy both
Air Canada and Canadian Airlines and merge them.

Also indicted were an Immigration and Naturalization Service agent, an
inspector with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a sheriff's
deputy who also worked as a baggage handler.

"Because it was an undercover operation, it's hard to judge, but they
were making lots of money doing this, more than their salaries," said
Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson Brent Eaton.

The drugs, including bogus cocaine and heroin supplied by agents, were
allegedly smuggled in airline food carts, garbage bags and backpacks
by uniformed workers who eluded metal detectors and airport X-rays.

Bill Slay, a spokesperson for LSG/Sky Chefs in Arlington, Texas, said
the caterer co-operated with federal investigators. "Our employees
have access to airplanes. Unfortunately, this handful of people have
taken advantage of the situation and used it to their own enrichment,"
Slay said.

By yesterday afternoon, at least 48 people had been arrested at home
and a few were caught at the airport. In New York, eight people --
including seven current or former baggage handlers and ramp agents for
American -- were charged yesterday with using similar tactics to
smuggle tonnes of marijuana from Miami to New York City.
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