Characters from the children's TV program "Teletubbies" were used as labels on the drugs.
Alleged drug traffickers are escorted from a truck by police in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday.
Posted on 10/01/2005 2:46:00 PM PDT by varyouga
22 arrested in Colombia, New York, California, Florida, New Jersey From Chris Browne CNN
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Of the 22 people charged with conspiring to import "massive quantities of narcotics" into the United States, two allegedly were leading the operation from a federal prison in Pennsylvania, according to federal prosecutors.
Jose Escobar Orejuela and Jorge Ignacio Figueroa were "supervising an international narcotics operation from the Federal Correctional Center in Allenwood, Pennsylvania," Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York's Eastern District, said Wednesday in announcing the charges.
The two are serving sentences for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States.
Attempts to reach their attorneys were unsuccessful.
They and the other defendants were charged with using New York and California seaports as entry points for the drugs. Arrests were made Tuesday and Wednesday in New York, New Jersey, Florida, California and Colombia.
Escobar allegedly enlisted the help of longshoremen to ensure that the "cocaine-laden containers were placed in an easily accessible location and by notifying organization members, if law enforcement was at the port," U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf said.
Photographs of the seized cocaine shipments show that the drugs were labeled with pictures of characters from the popular children's program "Teletubbies."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Characters from the children's TV program "Teletubbies" were used as labels on the drugs.
Alleged drug traffickers are escorted from a truck by police in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday.
It sounds as if Jose Escobar Orejuela and Jorge Ignacio Figueroa could run the state of Louisiana pretty cheaply. No fancy offices, expensive staff, limos, etc.
One has to wonder how legit are the wardens and prison guards to allow this to occur.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.