Pubdate:  Thur Aug 26, 1999
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: Guardian Media Group 1999
Contact:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Author: Michael Ellison in New York and Martin Hodgson in Bogota

AMERICAN AIRLINES WORKERS CAUGHT IN COCAINE STING 

One of the United States' leading airlines faced a blow to its image
yesterday after almost 60 people were picked up in a cocaine sting,
the second time in five days that the carrier has been linked to drug
smuggling.

As many as 42 of those arrested in dawn raids in the Miami and Fort
Lauderdale areas of Florida or in New York were American Airlines
ground staff.

Thirteen more worked for the Sky Chefs catering company, two others
were members of the immigration and naturalisation service and one
came from the department of agriculture.

About 300kg (660lb) of fake cocaine was used and more than $300,000
(pounds 18,750) paid to suspects as part of the undercover operation,
which cost an estimated $1m.

"We didn't run out of defendants, we ran out of money," said one
source.

Tom Cash, former director of the Drug Enforcement Administration,
said: "Because of the glorious opportunity you have to fly without
controls, these airlines become targets for organised crime.

"Airports are becoming like supermarkets. Only 15% of people today
even know who's working for them by conducting background checks."

But Larry Wansley, a spokesman for American Airlines, which is based
in Fort Worth, Texas, said: "This is a company with zero tolerance for
illegal drugs. While we are disturbed that a small group of employees
were part of a smuggling ring, their activity has been under federal
government and company surveillance for quite some time.

"We will continue with our cooperative efforts with law enforcement
officials to stem the flow of illegal drugs."

Only on Saturday, state security agents in Bogota, Colombia, arrested
10 men for allegedly smuggling half a ton of heroin into the US in
secret compartments on American Airlines jets flying between Cali and
Miami. The men, who infiltrated a maintenance company, are said to
have chosen the airline because they believed foreign planes were
checked less thoroughly.

Yesterday's swoop brought an end to more than two years of Operation
Ramp Rats, set up after evidence emerged of a real drug ring at Miami
international airport. Bogus drugs were placed by undercover agents on
planes arriving from Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia and unloaded
by the suspects, who allegedly acted as couriers for US
distribution.

The suspects - none of them pilots or managers - escaped the most
serious drug charges because the cocaine was not real. They instead
face counts of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute.

Staff are said to have used their passes and employees' car parks to
avoid airport security, or bypassed US customs inspectors by
transferring the contraband to a domestic baggage claim area for pick-up.

Otherwise, they used their company ID to avoid x-ray machines and
reach domestic terminals, where the drugs would be sent on to cities
such as New York, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Some fake cocaine was smuggled in airline food trays, and the suspects
were paid about $45,000 for each delivery. One man even acted as a
courier for hand grenades, guns and ammunition disabled by the agents.

"These employees were smuggling drugs and distributing them themselves
when they were off duty, using their employee passes throughout the
US," said Bret Eaton, a DEA spokesman. "They were making lots of money
- - more than their salaries."

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