-Caveat Lector- Colombians, Airline Ring Said Tied By JARED KOTLER .c The Associated Press BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Ten Colombians arrested over the weekend in Cali used American Airlines flights to smuggle more than a half ton of heroin and cocaine to Miami, a state security official said Wednesday. Cleotilde Moreno, an aide to the state security agency's chief of investigations, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that an airline maintenance company got the drugs aboard the American Airlines planes. The U.S. airline has one flight daily to Miami from Cali. There was no immediate indication that the arrests were connected to a sting operation in the United States involving dozens of American Airlines employees and contract workers. They were arrested Tuesday on cocaine and marijuana smuggling charges. American Airlines officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the Cali-based smuggling ring. According to the DAS security agency, the Cali traffickers worked through the maintenance company, Aercol, and smuggled more than a half ton of heroin to the United States. DAS spokesman Efrain Marin said the group occasionally smuggled cocaine, but opted generally for heroin, which is harder to detect and more lucrative. Mechanics hid the drugs in the tail sections, behind the pilots' seats and in technical compartments. Once in Miami, the heroin was received by a man whose identity DAS provided to U.S. authorities, the Colombian agency said. A respected foreign carrier was used ``because its planes are not subjected to as rigorous inspections as occurs with (Colombian) airlines.'' DAS said in a statement. Moreno said the security agency had been investigating the heroin ring for seven months, and believes it had been operating for two years. It's alleged leader, Simeon Gomez, is one of the men arrested Sunday. Colombia is the source of more than 80 percent of the world's cocaine and a growing share of heroin. Three-quarters of the heroin seized on the East Coast originates in this Andean nation, U.S. officials say. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
