COLONEL'S WIFE GUILTY PLEA EXPECTED

NEW YORK (AP) - The wife of the former commander of the U.S. Army' s
anti-drug operation in Colombia will plead guilty in a federal heroin
smuggling case, prosecutors said.

Attorneys for Laurie Anne Hiett, 36, reached an agreement earlier this
month with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to drug conspiracy charges,
according to court papers filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Dunst.

Mrs. Hiett surrendered to federal authorities in August after they
intercepted two 1.2 kilogram packages of heroin that she allegedly shipped
to the United States from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. She was accused of
making four other similar shipments.

Mrs. Hiett had said she believed the parcels contained books, candy, coffee
and Colombian artifacts. She is expected to plead guilty Jan. 26.

On Wednesday, Dunst refused to comment on the deal. Mrs. Hiett' s attorney
did not return a call for comment.

The Army insists Col. James Hiett, then head of U.S. anti-drug operations
in Colombia, was unaware of his wife' s alleged crimes. Court papers allege
he was living with a bungling drug smuggler who shipped her goods with a
return address.

The colonel requested removal from his military post in Colombia after the
allegations arose.

Earlier this month, co-defendant Hernan Arcila, 54, pleaded guilty to drug
conspiracy, admitting that he accepted shipments from Colombia at his
Queens address. He, like Mrs. Hiett, faces a possible 10-year prison term.

Authorities had at first said the packages linked to Mrs. Hiett contained
cocaine, but they later said lab tests showed the substance was heroin.