DRIVER HELD IN DRUG SMUGGLE SCANDAL

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Police on Wednesday arrested the Colombian
chauffeur of Laurie Hiett, the U.S. Army colonel's wife who smuggled
$700,000 worth of heroin to New York City through the embassy's mail
service.

Jorge Ayala, who allegedly conspired with Hiett in shipping the drugs,
was captured in a Bogota restaurant, state security police chief Col.
German Jaramillo told a news conference.

A longtime driver to U.S. military commanders in Colombia, Ayala will
probably be extradited to the United States where he faces a New York
indictment, Jaramillo said.

Hiett pleaded guilty Jan. 28 to mailing the drugs at the same time
that her husband, Army Col. James Hiett, was the U.S. military attache
in Colombia.

Although Hiett insists her husband never knew and no charges were
brought against him, the case was an embarrassment for the U.S. government.

Laurie Hiett surrendered to federal authorities in August after they
intercepted two 2 1/2-pound packages of heroin mailed to a New York
contact with her return address from the embassy.

She first pleaded innocent, claiming she'd sent the parcels as a favor
to Ayala and thought they contained books, candy, coffee and Colombian
artifacts.

But after a co-defendent in New York pleaded guilty Jan. 5, Hiett
sought a plea bargain. Free on bond, she faces sentencing in April and
faces up to nine years in prison.

After pleading guilty, Hiett talked openly to reporters about battling
drug addiction and said she was sorry her case made headlines at a
time when the United States is waging a costly war on drugs.

Col. Hiett was transferred to Fort Monroe, Va. The couple still live
together along with their two sons.