25 INDICTED IN FEDEX DRUG-SHIPPING CASE

LOS ANGELES - A federal grand jury Thursday indicted 25 suspected members
of a Los Angeles-based narcotics ring on charges of bribing Federal Express
employees to ship 121 tons of Mexican marijuana to the East Coast.

The ring was broken up two weeks ago with the arrest of about 100 people,
including 22 FedEx employees, in raids in California, Connecticut,
Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Georgia.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick J. Walsh said 12 of the 25 suspects indicted
in Los Angeles are fugitives, including the ring's alleged mastermind, Mark
Morant, 33.

Morant, a Jamaican, conceived the plan to use FedEx's overnight delivery
service to ship the marijuana, according to Drug Enforcement Administration
officials.

They said he operated out of a warehouse on Western Avenue for two years,
receiving periodic deliveries of marijuana from the Arrelano-Felix drug
cartel in Tijuana.

FedEx employees who participated in the scheme were paid $2,000 a week, the
DEA said.