COLOMBIAN TRAFFICKER BUSTED

Agents Say Kingpin Shipped Tons Of Drugs To U.S., Europe

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.

During 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 hover 100 miles off the Colombian coast and receive their
illegal cargo from high-powered cigarette boats speeding 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 --
that was 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 pair were handed over to U.S. authorities in Miami three days later
where they were charged with conspiring to traffic cocaine. They are being
held without bond.

U.S. authorities waited for Venezuelan police to raid a storage facility
with more than four tons of cocaine last week before announcing the arrests.

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

Over a two-year investigation, dubbed "Operation Journey," more than 24
tons of cocaine, worth about $1 billion, were 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."

Kelly praised law enforcement agencies in all 12 nations for their cooperation.

"This case demonstrates what can be achieved when nations of the world work
together against a common enemy," Kelly said.

The case began with a tip from British intelligence. The smugglers tried to
conceal their activities with normal cargoes of sugar and other commodities.

The largest single cocaine seizure was from a ship named Castor that
yielded more than four tons on June 8, 1999. Leaving dry dock in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic, in March of that year, the Castor traveled to
Veracruz, Mexico, before arriving in Miami, where it was seized.

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. Kelly said Saturday's announcement was unrelated to
Clinton's trip.

But other government sources said the announcement was accelerated to draw
attention to the president's visit.