DRUG AGENTS BREAK UP COAST-TO-COAST MEXICAN-JAMAICAN RING

WASHINGTON -- U.S. drug agents made dozens of arrests today to break
up a ring in which they said a powerful Mexican gang smuggled tons of
marijuana to Jamaican traffickers in this country who used Fedex to
ship it from California to East Coast markets.

The drug ring corrupted employees of Fedex, a private parcel service,
and some of those employees were arrested for assisting the ring, said
Joe Keefe, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration's special
operations division.

During the 20-month investigation, officers made 80 arrests, most of
them today. More were expected. Arrests have occurred in California,
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Florida,
Keefe said.

One of the world's largest drug organizations, the Arellano Felix
gang, based in Tijuana, Mexico, smuggled the marijuana to Jamaican
traffickers in Southern California, Keefe said.

The Jamaicans then used Fedex to ship it to Jamaican confederates in
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Florida
for sale to drug users.

DEA agents estimated that during the 20 months they spent
investigating and uncovering the extensive trafficking ring it
transported 117 tons of marijuana across the country.

Some 15 tons of marijuana had been seized by drug agents as of today,
and more was expected to be seized, Keefe said.