26214: Hermantin(News)Baggage handlers jailed in smuggling probe (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Fri, Sep. 09, 2005

Miami Herald

Around Miami-Dade


MIAMI

Baggage handlers jailed in smuggling probe

Federal agents arrested 10 suspects in an alleged Haiti-to-Miami 
cocaine-smuggling ring whose members include a trio of baggage handlers at 
Miami International Airport, according to sources familiar with the 
investigation.

The illegal drugs were transported in suitcases on American Airlines flights 
departing from Port-au-Prince and arriving at MIA, sources said. The baggage 
handlers received tips about which luggage contained the cocaine, so they could 
unload it to evade authorities.

Some of the defendants arrested Thursday are expected to appear today in 
federal court in Fort Lauderdale, the sources said.

The unsealed indictment names 11 defendants, including one who is still at 
large. The investigation, by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is targeting other suspects.

Officials with the FBI, which is leading the inquiry, declined to comment.

According to sources, the investigation of baggage handlers at MIA is unrelated 
to the DEA's three-year investigation of cocaine trafficking and money 
laundering in the administration of deposed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand 
Aristide, who is in exile in South Africa.

That investigation has led to conspiracy charges against at least 14 
defendants. Most have pleaded guilty.