POLICE SAY MEMBER OF U.S. NAVY CAUGHT SMUGGLING HEROIN FROM COLOMBIA

BOGOTA -- Colombian police said they caught a member of the U.S. Navy
trying to smuggle 0.9 kilograms (2 pounds) of heroin into the United States
after swallowing the drugs.

Police on Wednesday identified the suspect, arrested Sunday at the
international airport in Cali as he tried to board a Miami-bound flight, as
20-year-old Christian Gonzalez. They said he is a Colombian national with
permanent residency in the United States.

Gonzalez was carrying U.S. military identification and told police he
worked for the U.S. Navy, Cali police spokesman Col. Javier Pareja said.

Gonzalez appeared before reporters Wednesday wearing a black T-shirt with a
military-style crew cut. Police also displayed the 78 thumb-sized,
flesh-colored capsules of heroin Gonzalez allegedly swallowed.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Bogota, had no immediate
information on Gonzalez.

"The U.S. government applauds any success in stopping the trafficking of
narcotics," said the official, reading from a prepared statement. "The U.S.
Embassy is currently confirming the details of this case."

In a common practice here, couriers known as "drug mules" swallow capsules
of cocaine and heroin, and then expel them from their bodies after reaching
final destinations, usually in the United States or Europe.

Colombia, the world's leading cocaine exporter, also has become a major
source of the heroin sold in the United States.