AIRPORT DOG SNIFFS OUT ALLEGED DRUG SMUGGLER

Jaime Garcia was headed to Puerto Rico yesterday when he met Nero the dog
at Kennedy Airport, missed his flight and landed in the federal lock-up on
charges of trying to smuggle heroin, Port Authority police said.

Garcia, 29, was trying to board an American Trans Air flight shortly before
9 a.m. when he set off a metal detector. Security officials checked him
with a hand-held scanner and found no evidence of a weapon, but they
decided to call in Nero, a 3-year-old German shepherd trained to detect
narcotics.

"Once he saw the dog, he looked surprised," said Nero's handler, Officer
Steve Montgomery, adding that he "then seemed to realize what was coming."
Nero took a whiff and responded positive for narcotics, police said.
Beneath his outerwear, Garcia was wearing pantyhose covering packages of
white powder, 4 pounds in all, police said. Lt. Daniel Carbonaro said
federal agents were called in, and the substance was tested and confirmed
to be heroin with an estimated street value of at least $250,000.

Garcia, of Santurce, Puerto Rico, was in New York for at least five days,
Carbonaro said. He said the case was unusual in one respect: Most times
narcotics are intercepted from traffickers who are seeking to import, not
export, as Garcia is accused of doing.

Officials said Garcia may have been trying to return to Puerto Rico to
trade heroin for cocaine. Carbonaro said Garcia was cooperating with
investigators.

Garcia is expected to be arraigned today in federal court on charges of
possession and conspiracy to distribute narcotics. He faces up to 10 years
in prison if convicted, Carbonaro said.

The haul was the second catch of the day for Nero, who earlier yesterday
intercepted 9 pounds of marijuana. "Officer, uh, dog Nero has earned his
salary," Carbonaro said.