Posted on Tue, Feb. 24, 2004
TAKEN AWAY: Drug Enforcement Administration agents escort one the arrested Miami International Airport workers to their headquarters Monday. Thirteen people are charged after a four-year investigation called 'Operation Return Flight.' RONNA GRADUS/FOR THE HERALD
Feds: Airline workers in drug ring
Ten American Airlines employees -- and one man, apparently mistakenly -- are among those arrested on charges of smuggling drugs in Miami-bound jets.
BY LUISA YANEZ
[email protected]
Ten American Airlines employees with high security clearance at Miami International Airport were among 13 people indicted Monday on allegations they smuggled drugs into the country in commercial airliners, federal authorities said Monday.
But the rounding up of suspects proved troublesome to federal authorities who arrested a Broward County man, apparently in error after he was somehow misidentified.
''There might have been a mistake in arresting him; we're still trying to find out what happened,'' said Matt Dates, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's' Office in Miami, which held a news conference to announce the indictments.
The office issued an emergency alert, advising the media not to publish the man's name, who had been handcuffed and taken from his home.
ACCUSATIONS
Those arrested by late Monday -- some on the job and wearing work uniforms -- were snared as part of a sting dubbed Operation Return Flight.
They are accused of conspiring to distribute cocaine and heroin by hiding them ''any place you could think of on a plane'' on international flights originating in South and Central America and the Caribbean, bound for Miami, said Thomas Raffanello, special agent in charge of the Miami field office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
If convicted, they face prison sentences ranging from five years to life.
Authorities said the probe focused only on ramp workers who handled the drugs in Miami, not in foreign airports. All arrested were U.S. citizens.
The case is the third involving drug smuggling at MIA in five years -- the main hub of Latin American travel, said Thomas Mulvihill, first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District. The smuggling occurred between 2000 and November 2003.
SMUGGLING TRAIL
Once the drugs made it to MIA from Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama and Puerto Rico, they were transferred to hiding places on domestic flights and shipped to undercover agents in New York, Baltimore, Nashville, Dallas, back to Puerto Rico and elsewhere.
Agents investigating security at MIA stumbled onto the smuggling ring four years ago, Mulvihill said. Undercover agents then infiltrated the group. During the investigation, agents gave the ring bogus cocaine and heroin to transport, or purchased real drugs from them.
`CAN ONLY GUESS'
''We know in one instance they were able to smuggle 100 kilos of cocaine, so we can only guess at the amount of drugs they could smuggle,'' Raffanello said.
Indicted were: Hans Adolff, Antonio Atiles, Evelis Brandon, Gilberto Cabrera, Miguel Caballero, Ricardo Clifton, Tom Faulkner, Ricardo Hernandez, Oscar Pineiro and Edwin Rivera, all American Airlines employees, plus William Otero, Pedro Chiclana, and Dobedel Taveras, who work for other employers at the airport.
A statement issued by spokeswoman Martha Pantin said: ``American Airlines is firmly committed to the fight against drug smuggling and assisted in the investigation that led to today's arrests . . . American deeply regrets that the actions of a few employees has blemished this otherwise outstanding record of accomplishment by thousands of dedicated and highly professional American Airlines men and women.''
Peddling a product like Drugs or Amfa is a sure sign of disaster! Pretty well guarantees you will be looking for a new line of work!
TAKEN AWAY: Drug Enforcement Administration agents escort one the arrested Miami International Airport workers to their headquarters Monday. Thirteen people are charged after a four-year investigation called 'Operation Return Flight.' RONNA GRADUS/FOR THE HERALD
Feds: Airline workers in drug ring
Ten American Airlines employees -- and one man, apparently mistakenly -- are among those arrested on charges of smuggling drugs in Miami-bound jets.
BY LUISA YANEZ
[email protected]
Ten American Airlines employees with high security clearance at Miami International Airport were among 13 people indicted Monday on allegations they smuggled drugs into the country in commercial airliners, federal authorities said Monday.
But the rounding up of suspects proved troublesome to federal authorities who arrested a Broward County man, apparently in error after he was somehow misidentified.
''There might have been a mistake in arresting him; we're still trying to find out what happened,'' said Matt Dates, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's' Office in Miami, which held a news conference to announce the indictments.
The office issued an emergency alert, advising the media not to publish the man's name, who had been handcuffed and taken from his home.
ACCUSATIONS
Those arrested by late Monday -- some on the job and wearing work uniforms -- were snared as part of a sting dubbed Operation Return Flight.
They are accused of conspiring to distribute cocaine and heroin by hiding them ''any place you could think of on a plane'' on international flights originating in South and Central America and the Caribbean, bound for Miami, said Thomas Raffanello, special agent in charge of the Miami field office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
If convicted, they face prison sentences ranging from five years to life.
Authorities said the probe focused only on ramp workers who handled the drugs in Miami, not in foreign airports. All arrested were U.S. citizens.
The case is the third involving drug smuggling at MIA in five years -- the main hub of Latin American travel, said Thomas Mulvihill, first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District. The smuggling occurred between 2000 and November 2003.
SMUGGLING TRAIL
Once the drugs made it to MIA from Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama and Puerto Rico, they were transferred to hiding places on domestic flights and shipped to undercover agents in New York, Baltimore, Nashville, Dallas, back to Puerto Rico and elsewhere.
Agents investigating security at MIA stumbled onto the smuggling ring four years ago, Mulvihill said. Undercover agents then infiltrated the group. During the investigation, agents gave the ring bogus cocaine and heroin to transport, or purchased real drugs from them.
`CAN ONLY GUESS'
''We know in one instance they were able to smuggle 100 kilos of cocaine, so we can only guess at the amount of drugs they could smuggle,'' Raffanello said.
Indicted were: Hans Adolff, Antonio Atiles, Evelis Brandon, Gilberto Cabrera, Miguel Caballero, Ricardo Clifton, Tom Faulkner, Ricardo Hernandez, Oscar Pineiro and Edwin Rivera, all American Airlines employees, plus William Otero, Pedro Chiclana, and Dobedel Taveras, who work for other employers at the airport.
A statement issued by spokeswoman Martha Pantin said: ``American Airlines is firmly committed to the fight against drug smuggling and assisted in the investigation that led to today's arrests . . . American deeply regrets that the actions of a few employees has blemished this otherwise outstanding record of accomplishment by thousands of dedicated and highly professional American Airlines men and women.''
Peddling a product like Drugs or Amfa is a sure sign of disaster! Pretty well guarantees you will be looking for a new line of work!
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