JAMAICAN MAN CONVICTED OF SMUGGLING COCAINE

MIAMI--A man alleged to be a former member of a violent Jamaican gang
that was blamed for hundreds of murders across the United States was
convicted of cocaine smuggling.

Charles "Little Nut" Miller, of the Caribbean island of St. Kitts,
faces life in prison after his conspiracy conviction this week in
federal court. Sentencing was set for Feb. 13.

Miller was alleged to be a member of a Jamaican-dominated gang called
the Shower Posse, known for trafficking tons of cocaine in the 1980s.
Authorities blame the gang for some 1,400 murders in the United States.

After testifying against the gang in 1989 he received broad federal
protections and a new identity, but fled the country for St. Kitts in
1991.

In 1998, the State Department accused Miller of threatening to kill
U.S. students at St. Kitts' Ross Veterinary University if he were ever
extradited.

His conviction was in connection with a shipment of more than 200
pounds of Colombian cocaine.

"Miller was the gatekeeper to all drugs that went through St. Kitts to
the U.S.," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Blanco said.

Miller was extradited from St. Kitts in February.