SEIZED-SPEEDBOAT TRIAL UNDER WAY

TAMPA - Opening Statements Are Made In The Trial Of Four Colombians
Facing Cocaine Distribution Charges

Federal prosecutors outlined their case Tuesday against four
Colombians arrested and brought to Tampa as part of a long string of
cocaine seizures off the coast of Ecuador, but shed no light on the
mystery shrouding the case.

The case involves one of many vessels seized and brought to Florida
by federal agents in the eastern Pacific this year. Agents have
confiscated more than 17 tons of cocaine and charged 40 crewman, but
have refused to say what sparked the seizures or why the cases are
being prosecuted in Tampa.

The four Colombians on trial were found in an unmarked speedboat 400
miles off the Ecuadoran coast in June. Prosecutors say the boat was
loaded with drums of fuel and bales of cocaine worth tens of millions
of dollars.

In his opening statement, a prosecutor did not say whether the
cocaine was headed for Tampa, or even for the United States.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter was on routine patrol off the coast of
Ecuador on June 18 when it spotted the unflagged, unmarked boat, said
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Preston.

The Coast Guard launched a small boat to catch up with the speedboat.
Several members of the Coast Guard testified that the men aboard the
speedboat dumped bales of cocaine, fuel drums, wood and equipment
into their path.

The Coast Guard eventually caught up with the boat and arrested the
four crewmen. The Coast Guard retrieved 90 waterproof bales of
cocaine - about 1,800 kilos - floating in the water.

The crewmen - Pedro Tinoco, Manuel Hernandez, Tito Estupinan and Neil
Hoard - are charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to
distribute cocaine.

Defense lawyers say the prosecution has no evidence and the United
States had no authority or jurisdiction to stop the boat.

"Consider everything you hear and don't hear about what happened out
there,'' defense attorney Stephen Leal said Tuesday. "Keep asking
yourself, 'Did my client commit any crimes against the United States
of America.' ''

A federal judge dismissed a similar case in September for lack of
evidence. In that case, four Colombian sailors were found on a
speedboat that was called a floating gas station. Agents didn't find
any drugs on it, and said it was being used to refuel two other
speedboats loaded with cocaine.

Attorney Mary Mills described her client, Manuel Hernandez, as a
poverty-stricken man who went to the dock in his small Colombian
village looking for a job on a fishing boat so he could buy food for
his family.

"He was so happy that day because he was hired,'' Mills said,
referring to his job on the speedboat. The $125 he was to earn would
have bought enough food to feed his family for a month, she said.

The trial continues today with a chemist from the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration expected to testify.