AIRPORT COCAINE ARRESTS

Alert Customs agents snag record $12M coke bust

The "flags went up" for airport customs agents and a pair of
international dope smugglers went down this weekend during a bust that
netted $12 million in cocaine -- the largest such seizure in Alberta's
history.

Customs officials seized 60 kg (133 lbs) of cocaine which had been
hidden in dinnerware boxes carried in three suitcases by a couple of
men returning from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

"We have primary indicators -- such as the person's demeanor and
answers to certain questions we ask -- when you go through primary
customs," said Ron Quinn of Canada Customs.

"The flags went up on this one when customs officers saw the men," he
said.

The two Mexican men were taken to a customs interrogation room and
their luggage was searched.

Officials opened one of several boxes mingled with clothing at the
bottom of the suitcases and found the cocaine. It was simply wrapped in
brown paper, then covered with clear plastic.

"This was not a very sophisticated scheme and we have no idea why it
was carried this way in those dishware boxes," Quinn said.

But the packaging is similar to recent seizures in Europe and
investigators believe the group responsible has a worldwide
distribution network, said RCMP Staff Sgt. Birnie Smith, Calgary drug
section commander.

The men flew into Calgary from Mexico via Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex. on
Saturday night.

As soon as the dope was discovered, the cocaine and the men were turned
over to the RCMP.

"The men gave up without any trouble," Quinn said.

Police charged the two men -- and a third suspect who was already in
Calgary -- with drug-related offences.

Ricardo Rangel Corona, 45, Evelia Barreto Robles, 27, and Juan Carlos
Quintero Cortes, 27, all of Mexico, were charged with one count each of
importing a controlled substance and possession of cocaine for the
purpose of trafficking.