MARIJUANA OPERATION USING FEDEX WORKERS BROKEN UP BY AGENTS

Federal agents busted a marijuana-trafficking operation that used
FedEx employees to distribute more than 100 tons of pot across the
USA, authorities announced Thursday.

More than 100 people have been arrested, and authorities say the final
number could exceed 120. Among them were 25 employees of the overnight
shipping firm, which alerted federal authorities then cooperated with
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) during its 18-month
investigation.

The marijuana was moved through the Arellano-Felix cartel in Tijuana
and northern Mexico to warehouses in the Los Angeles area. From there,
it was packaged in bundles of up to 100 pounds. The bales were wrapped
in plastic sheeting and placed in FedEx boxes, with fabric softener or
laundry detergent used to throw drug-sniffing dogs off the scent. The
bundles then were sent through the FedEx hub in Memphis and shipped by
FedEx to various cities, authorities said. The cities included Boston;
Hartford, Conn.; New York; Newark, N.J.; Philadelphia; Baltimore;
Pittsburgh; Cleveland; St. Louis; Memphis; Atlanta; and Fort
Lauderdale. The packages carried FedEx labels concocted by corrupt
customer service representatives in New York City, officials said. The
packages were addressed to non-existent companies at real addresses
but were in fact transferred from FedEx trucks to other vehicles for
distribution. The drug organization recruited drivers to protect
shipments. Some were paid up to $2,000 a week to move the bundles,
said Joe Keefe, chief of the DEA's special operations division.

About $160 million worth of marijuana moved across the country during
the year and a half.

Although traffickers have used commercial carriers in the past, this
was the first time drug smugglers used one carrier exclusively for all
its shipments, said Donnie Marshall, the DEA's acting administrator.
He said FedEx's package-tracking system helped authorities catch the
employees involved. Normally, FedEx employees found to be involved in
drug trafficking would be fired immediately and turned over to
authorities, officials say, but the DEA asked FedEx to monitor the
situation instead.

The 25 FedEx employees arrested include a security official in New
York, customer service representatives and drivers. No pilots have
been charged, officials said.