VENEZUELAN-U.S. EFFORT REELS IN ALLEGED DRUG KINGPIN

Colombian's Freighters Shipped 68 Tons Of Cocaine, Agents Say

WASHINGTON -- A Colombian drug kingpin who used an armada of 10 commercial
freighters to ship 68 tons of cocaine to South Florida and Europe is under
arrest, federal drug agents announced Saturday.

Authorities described the capture last week of Ivan De La Vega, 48, by
police in Venezuela as cutting off ``the head of the snake,'' and said it
was a ``major blow'' to the Colombian drug trade, which exports an estimated
300 tons of cocaine each year.

Over the past three years, De La Vega's ring bought or leased mostly Greek
freighters to transport drugs in hidden compartments from the coast of
Colombia to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and such European ports as Amsterdam,
authorities said.

The ships would remain 100 miles off the Colombian coast and receive their
illegal cargo from high-powered speedboats racing from jungle manufacturing
plants along the shore.

Crews of the freighters were paid from $30,000 for the captain to $3,000 for
deck hands to smuggle the drugs, according to seized logs. Most of the
cocaine was delivered to Europe, a more profitable market where the street
price of a kilogram is $50,000. The same amount costs $1,700 in Colombia and
$25,000 in the United States, agents said.

U.S. Customs Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the ring was unique because
of the ``staggering amount'' of drugs -- worth $3 billion on the street --
being shipped and the ``expansive reach'' of the organization to 12
countries: Colombia, the United States, Albania, Belgium, France, Greece,
Italy, the Netherlands, Panama, Spain, Great Britain and Venezuela.

Venezuelan authorities arrested De La Vega on Aug. 16 along with Luis
Antonio Navia, a Colombian described as a ``major investor'' who was wanted
on prior drug-trafficking charges in the United States.

The two were handed over to U.S. authorities in Miami three days later, and
were charged with conspiring to traffic cocaine. They are being held without
bond.

An additional 41 suspects, including crew members of the freighters and
Greek organized-crime figures, have been arrested in several countries,
authorities said.

The announcement of the arrests came days before a visit to Colombia and
other Latin American nations by President Clinton to boost efforts to fight
the drug trade.

Over a two-year investigation, more than 24 tons of cocaine, worth about $1
billion, was seized from five ships headed for U.S. and European ports by a
Customs, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Coast Guard task force monitoring the
deliveries. The 68-ton estimate was based on what informants involved in the
shipping told authorities was delivered over the past three years.

``Certainly, this is a major blow to the Colombian cartels in the short
term,'' Kelly said. ``But no one is claiming victory in the war on drugs.
We're never going to seize or arrest our way out of the drug problem.''