WOMEN TAKING OVER AS TOP DRUG DEALERS

In one of the less heralded feminist milestones, women are gradually
moving into controlling positions in the world of international drug
dealing.

Drug lords are increasingly likely to be ladies. The growing number of
women operating major drug rings has less to do with equal
opportunities than the high rate of attrition among drug kingpins.

With the recent arrest, imprisonment or death of so many drug bosses,
wives, girlfriends and woman associates are often to be found in
positions of power within the intensely volatile illegal industry.

Officials say the trend is evident in the Colombian drug cartels,
where women have become some of the most revered and feared figures as
the criminal groups have dissolved and reformed.

``The Colombians are the only ethnic group involved in organised
criminal activities that we've come across where women are
increasingly becoming central players,'' Al Singleton, an expert on
Colombian drug smuggling with the Miami Police Department, told the
New York Post.

The most notorious drug baroness to come to light recently is Griselda
Blanco. A former prostitute from Medellin, Blanco is alleged to have
ordered dozens of killings while running a multimillion dollar drug
operation. Last year she admitted two murders and is now serving a
20-year sentence.