FBI SMASHES HUGE DRUG SMUGGLING RING

The FBI and the US drug enforcement administration (DEA) said yesterday
they had smashed a ring which had smuggled vast amounts of cocaine and
marijuana by truck and train from Colombia through Mexico into the US.

In a year-long investigation codenamed Southwest Express, 2,700kg of
cocaine, 1,800kg of marijuana and more than $1.1m were seized. Raids were
carried out in the early hours of yesterday morning in 14 cities in seven
states, from Texas to Chicago, resulting in 70 arrests.

"[The operation] has resulted in the disruption of a major drug-trafficking
organisation from its distribution system to its retail sales," Tom
Pickard, an FBI official, said yesterday.

The FBI said the ring was controlled from San Diego but aimed at eastern
cities such as Boston and New York, and had a turnover of more than $1bn.