ANTI-DRUG OFFICER'S WIFE IS CHARGED

Smuggling Cocaine Into U.S. Alleged

The wife of an Army officer who until recently commanded a U.S. military
unit running anti-drug operations in Colombia has been charged with
smuggling cocaine into the United States, federal authorities said yesterday.

Laurie Hiett, 36, wife of Col. James Hiett, surrendered to federal
authorities in Brooklyn on Thursday and was arraigned on a charge of
conspiracy to distribute narcotics. She was released on $150,000 bond after
the court appearance, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Dunst said.

The federal criminal charge against Hiett and two others, first reported by
the Village Voice newspaper in New York, comes at a time of increased
attention to the U.S. anti-drug effort in Colombia. Barry R. McCaffrey,
head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, returned
from a visit to Colombia last week and suggested the need for $1 billion
more to combat drug traffic in the region, with about half of the extra
money going to Colombia. Yesterday, McCaffrey told a House subcommittee
that an "emergency situation" was developing in Colombia because of a
higher-yielding coca crop under cultivation.

In the past, the administration has twice "decertified" the Colombian
government from receiving U.S. aid - in 1996 and 1997 -- for its failure to
combat the illegal drug trade with adequate vigor. But the current
government, headed by President Andres Pastrana, is generally seen as more
aggressive in its counternarcotics efforts.

Yesterday, military officials said that their own investigations of the
allegations against Hiett had uncovered no evidence implicating her husband.

"There was a military investigation immediately after the allegations were
made and that investigation revealed no evidence that he had any prior
knowledge of the alleged criminal actions of his spouse nor did he have any
involvement in this incident," said Raul Duany, spokesman for the U.S.
Southern Command in Miami.

Duany said James Hiett took command of the 200-member military group
stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota last summer. He said Hiett asked
for a voluntary transfer to another assignment after the allegations arose
against his wife and will be leaving Colombia soon.

According to court documents, the alleged smuggling scheme involved the
mailing of six packages, each containing about 1.2 kilograms (2.7 pounds)
of cocaine, from the embassy post office between April 13 and May 26.
Laurie Hiett mailed five of the packages and arranged for a friend --
apparently the wife of another military officer -- to mail the sixth, the
court documents said.

The investigation was set off by what was described in the court papers as
a "routine search" of a package in Miami that contained cocaine. The
package bore Laurie Hiett's return address.

According to the federal government allegations, outlined in an affidavit
seeking arrest warrants last June 25, the packages were mailed to two
people in New York. One of them, Hernan Arcila, was arrested by New York
police in May and is jailed on state drug possession charges. He told
police investigators that he received $1,500 for each package he received.

The other person packages were mailed to was Tilma Arcila, identified as
Hernan Arcila's sister, who was arrested Wednesday, arraigned in federal
court and released on $175,000 bond.

The court documents said Hiett told military investigators that she mailed
the packages at the request of her husband's embassy driver and did not
know they contained cocaine. The government also charged the driver, Jorge
Alfonso Ayala, a Colombian national and 15-year embassy employee, with
being part of the alleged smuggling scheme. Dunst said Ayala had not been
arrested and was last known to be in Colombia.

According to the affidavit, Ayala told military investigators that Laurie
Hiett "abused cocaine" and had asked him to help her obtain cocaine. It
said when asked about these allegations, Hiett "emotionally denied the
charges."