Major security lapse:
CONTINENTAL WORKERS ACCUSED OF SMUGGLING COCAINE
POSTED: 8:00 am EDT June 10, 2004
NEWARK, N.J. -- Federal agents on Wednesday charged six Continental Airlines employees with smuggling hundreds of pounds of cocaine into the country through Newark Liberty International Airport.
The workers were baggage handlers at the airport who used their positions to divert suitcases of cocaine from customs inspections, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The workers also laundered millions of dollars in profits by taking suitcases filled with cash out of the country, again using their positions to bypass inspection, authorities said.
The employees traveled to Miami, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere to import the drugs and export the cash.
Continental workers at airports in Miami and Puerto Rico have also been implicated in related schemes.
The Newark ring operated from January 2000 to August 2003, using large Samsonite suitcases containing 15 to 17 kilograms (33 to 37 pounds) of cocaine, according to a Customs Enforcement complaint filed Wednesday.
"We do expect more arrests," Thomas Manifase, deputy special agent in charge of the Customs Enforcement office in Newark.
The agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, acknowledged that the case highlights vulnerabilities in the transportation system.
"Employees like this pose a significant threat to our national security," Manifase said. "Homeland Security is aggressively pursuing this case."
"This was no mom-and-pop organization. They were pretty sophisticated," he said.
They employed lookouts and retagged suitcases of cocaine coming from overseas so they would go to domestic luggage carousels. "It would never even come to our uniformed officers," Manifase said.
As a result, the agency is trying to increase surveillance of baggage unloading at major airports, he said.
He said Continental Airlines assisted in the investigation, which was conducted by Customs Enforcement and the FBI.
A spokesman for the Houston-based airline, Rahsaan Johnson, said employees accused in the drug ring have been removed from the work schedule and their status is under review.
Of the six Newark employees, one remains at large: Sandy Francisco Hernandez, 28, of Union City.
Arturo Martinez, 26, was arrested at his home in Kearny. The others were arrested at the airport: Cristian Antonio Ramirez, 27, of Passaic; Ramon Emilio Urena, 28, of Passaic; Antonio Reynoso, 50, of Jersey City, and William Roman, 37, of Jersey City.
All face up to life in prison if convicted on the charge, conspiracy to traffic more than 5 kilograms of cocaine.
Ten people, including four Continental employees, were charged Tuesday in a cocaine conspiracy indictment issued in Miami.
Continental employees Jose Abreu, Rosa Abreu and Pedro Perez were taken into custody in Miami, and Marisela Diaz was arrested in Puerto Rico. Prosecutors had no information on whether the Abreus were related.
The Miami workers "had, at one time, assisted the Newark crew," Manifase said.
In a related Miami case last year, Alberto Gonzalez, a Continental Airlines employee in Newark, and Miami International Airport employee Lucia Robinson were sent to prison on drug conspiracy charges for a 154-pound load seized in four suitcases at the Miami airport and an 11-pound load stashed on a boat in Miami.
Robinson was caught in uniform trying to smuggle the suitcases past security in July 2003.
Gonzalez was sentenced to 24 years and Robinson to less than four years.
Sentencing is pending for Alex Lujan, who was stopped while towing the boat and trailer destined for New York in August 2003.
Co-defendant Luis Ortiz was sentenced to nine years after making the flight from Miami to Newark and meeting Gonzalez on the ground without realizing the cocaine had been seized.
Is that why we are pulling forces out of NK as fast as we can?
Are 12 or 15 thousand of a 30 thousand strong force going to Iraq?
A very sobering prospect.
At least one friend should be moved from Seoul to Singapore, shortly. LOL.
I don't think USA cities would escape unscathed such an event. WWIII would likely erupt.