TRAFFICKERS WOULD KILL A PERSON TO FILL BODY WITH DRUGS,
DOMINICAN DRUG CZAR SAYS

SANTO DOMINGO. - Drug trafficking looks for all ways to evade the
authorities, "even killing a person to remove their entrails and fill
the empty space with cocaine or heroin," and using bottles of
recognized Dominican rum brands and beers to take heroin and cocaine
diluted in water out of the country, which has forced the Dominican
antinarcotics agency (DNCD) to send specialists to the different
airports to thwart the practice.

DNCD director Rafael Ramirez cited as example Wednesday night's
arrest of two Spaniards who tried to fly to Madrid with several
bottles of liquid heroin, disguised as rum and beer.

"They are looking for a thousand ways to take drugs out of the
country, as the narcotics traffickers are aware that the DNCD is
alert to keep from being deceived. We have to have previously trained
personnel in the detection of that type of substance, and even more
when they try to take them out of the country well-sealed bottles,
as if they had been taken from the alcohol distilleries," he said.

Antonio Rangel Mariano and Maria Isabel Aguilar MoratA3 were arrested
in Las Americas International Airport (AILA) shortly before boarding
an Air Comet flight to the Spanish capital. Both are being held in
the DNCD compound in Santo Domingo, prior to arraignment.

Rangel and Aguilar passed by AILA control area when DNCD and Airport
Security (CESA) agents observed several bottles in their luggage,
which upon being checked uncovered they weren't rum or beer and
instead a brown liquid, "with all the characteristics of heroin."

Ramirez said in the last weeks dozens of cases have been detected in
AILA, as well as in the Santiago, Puerto Plata and Punta Cana
airports, where "mules" frequently try to leave the country to Europe
or the United States, with drugs in their stomach, bottles or cans,
with the most traffic headed to Spain and Holland.

The official said his agents are alert to prevent the entry or exit
of drugs, regardless of the routes they use. "Drug traffickers are
capable of anything, that is to say they could even kill a person,
remove their entrails and fill the empty space with cocaine or heroin."