MILLIONAIRE EXTRADITED FOR DRUG TRIAL

Colombian Accused As Lead Smuggler - Agents Fly Him To Tampa

TAMPA - A Colombian millionaire who federal authorities say was a top
cocaine smuggler for the Cali cartel was quietly extradited to Tampa
on Friday to face trafficking charges that could put him in prison for
40 years.

Joaquin Mario Valencia- Trujillo, 46, with assets in the range of $500
million, was flown to Tampa by federal agents early Friday morning.
The agents say he was the main target of Operation Panama Express, a
decadelong effort to end cocaine smuggling into the United States from
Colombia.

Valencia-Trujillo is ``a very big deal,'' said Dominic Albanese,
special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Tampa
office. ``I would say he's as big as Pablo Escobar, if not larger.''

Escobar, who was killed by police in 1993, once led the powerful
Medellin cartel.

The polished and politically connected Valencia-Trujillo fought
extradition to the United States for more than a year before he was
flown here on a DEA jet, landing at Raytheon Airport Terminal on the
outer edge of Tampa International Airport. He was greeted by a
contingent of federal agents that whisked him to the Pinellas County
jail, where he stayed overnight.

``He was quiet and well-mannered,'' said Robert Moore, Immigration
and Customs Enforcement group supervisor for Panama Express. ``He was
subdued. He wasn't jovial by any means.''

`A Significant Win'

Federal authorities, on the other hand, were jubilant at his arrival.
It marked the pinnacle of the international drug investigation.

Once an influential, if low-key, member of the notorious Cali cartel,
Valencia-Trujillo is believed to have been responsible for shipping
more than 100 tons of cocaine annually into the United States, or
about 20 percent of the total that entered this country.

Valencia-Trujillo's capture is ``a significant win for law
enforcement,'' Albanese said.

And if he follows the example of others caught in the net of Panama
Express and begins cooperating, there's no telling where that will
lead, investigators said.

``If he talks, he can open up not only his own organization, but the
organizations of others who use his [smuggling] routes,'' said DEA
supervisor Jeff Brunner, adding that Valencia-Trujillo was an
important member of the cartel because of the means of transportation
he provided other cocaine kingpins.

Valencia-Trujillo had an initial appearance Friday afternoon before
U.S. Magistrate Mary S. Scriven. He is being held with no bail on
federal charges of racketeering, conspiracy to import cocaine,
conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and money-laundering
conspiracy.

The purpose of Friday's court appearance was to present the charges
and inform Valencia-Trujillo of his rights. A judge will set a date
for his arraignment.

Miami lawyer Neil M. Schuster, who is defending Valencia-Trujillo,
declined to discuss the case after the brief hearing, except to say,
``Mr. Valencia [is] not guilty.''

In 2002, Schuster was one of three attorneys who defended accused
Colombian cocaine trafficker Salvador Magluta.

At his trial, Magluta was cleared on charges that he hired Colombian
assassins to kill three former associates who were cooperating with
authorities, according to The Miami Herald.

Magluta was convicted of additional charges of conspiracy to launder
drug money, bribing a witness and multiple counts of money laundering.

His cocaine supplier was identified during his trial as Oscar
Martinez, which investigators now say was an alias used by
Valencia-Trujillo.

The charges faced by Valencia-Trujillo normally carry a sentence of 20
years to life. However, under the terms of his extradition, the United
States agreed to seek a sentence of ``a reasonable term,'' or no more
than 40 years in prison, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph K. Ruddy said.

A Reputation For Discipline

Appearing dapper even in the wrinkled, blue jail jumpsuit he wore to
court, Valencia- Trujillo has a reputation for discipline and was
known to work out in the gym of his opulent estate an average of three
hours a day.

The compound in Cali, Colombia, known as Casa Blanca, appears as
expansive from the air as the Pentagon.

Valencia-Trujillo owns and operates Unipapel, a commercial paper
company in Cali, records show.

He also runs Criadero La Luisa, a ranch outside Cali that breeds some
of the finest Colombian paso fino show horses in the world.

He is married to a popular roller-skating star, Luz Mery
Trista'n.

Authorities allege Valencia- Trujillo, also known as El Joven, or The
Young Man, used his businesses as a front for his drug activities.
Ruddy said Valencia-Trujillo had 28 businesses that served as fronts
for his cocaine operation, allowing him to launder the proceeds.

He was so successful that he was able to operate for years without
drawing the attention of law enforcement, said Moore and Jeff Brunner,
group supervisor for the DEA's Tampa office.

His celebrity wife and seemingly legitimate business activities
``played into his ability to live a very lavish lifestyle and be under
the radar screen,'' Brunner said.

Valencia-Trujillo's key to success within the Cali cartel was his
maritime smuggler, Jose Castrillon-Henao, Brunner said. Castrillon-
Henao established an effective route for transporting cocaine, Brunner
said.

The route began on Colombia's coastal city of Buena Ventura,
authorities said, where ships loaded with tons of cocaine traveled
1,500 miles west past the Galapagos Islands, where they transferred
their cargo to Mexican fishing boats.

Castrillon-Henao was arrested in Panama in 1996 and brought to Tampa
to face charges in 1998.

He began cooperating with authorities, and as his assistance became
known, Valencia-Trujillo's prominence in the cartel began to wane,
investigators said.

Authorities think Valencia- Trujillo has continued his cocaine
business.

``I still think he still has the wherewithal,'' Brunner said. ``And we
have reason to believe he's still investing in cocaine loads.''

Castrillon-Henao might not have been Valencia-Trujillo's only means of
transporting cocaine. Castrillon-Henao, alone, is said to have
smuggled 100 tons of cocaine into the United States each year in the
early 1990s. Both Ruddy and Brunner said authorities suspect Valencia-
Trujillo very likely used other shipping operators, meaning he likely
was responsible for far more cocaine smuggling than is known.

``I know he wasn't put out of business just because we captured Jose''
Castrillon-Henao, Brunner said.

Valencia-Trujillo and his older brother Guillermo were named as
``specially designated narcotics traffickers'' by the U.S. Office of
Foreign Asset Control, Ruddy said. Because Guillermo Valencia-Trujillo
is not facing charges, Ruddy declined to discuss him.

The designation means the brothers' U.S. assets are frozen, and U.S.
citizens are forbidden to do business with them.

Fighting Extradition

Arrested in January 2003, Valencia-Trujillo has vigorously fought
extradition, Ruddy said. ``At one point, the Colombian papers were
reporting he was on a hunger strike in jail,'' Ruddy said.

The prosecutor noted that reports indicated the defendant was limiting
himself to water and chocolate.

Ruddy said that although Colombian law does not permit a defendant to
challenge the evidence in an extradition, Valencia-Trujillo tried to
force what would have been, in essence, a trial in Colombia. ``The
government said, `No. You do that up in Tampa,' '' Ruddy said.