43 CHARGED IN JAIL DRUG NETWORK

MIAMI (AP) Forty-three people including 13 corrections officers were
charged with operating an intricate drug-dealing network led by a jailed
dealer after a probe of Miami-Dade County jails turned up rampant
corruption.

The charges follow a secret investigation launched a year ago involving
local, state and federal agencies. The probe found that officers allegedly
looked the other way or actively took part as marijuana, cocaine and
other contraband was smuggled into jails for inmates in exchange for cash,
jewelry, car repairs, sporting equipment, and more.

The probe focused on the Miami-Dade Pretrial Detention Center and the
Turner- Guilford Knight Correctional Center, a 1,000-bed pretrial facility,
said state attorney Kathy Fernandez Rundle. "It's very disturbing to know
that law enforcement officers are involved in this," Rundle said.

The U.S. attorney's office unsealed an indictment Friday charging 26
people, including Eduardo Manzano the alleged leader of a jailhouse
cocaine and marijuana distribution organization. Manzano made payments to
corrections officers at the detention center and at the correctional center
to gain access to phones, drugs, food and clothing, the indictment said.

The state attorney's office arrested and charged 17 more people, who will
be indicted during the next few weeks, said spokesman Don Ungurait.

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson