HEROIN IN PRESIDENTIAL JET LANDS 3 IN JAIL

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA -- Three former air force mechanics have been
convicted of trying to smuggle heroin to the United States in 1996 on
the official jetliner of former President Ernesto Samper.

In last week's court action, the mechanics were sentenced to 7 1/2
years in jail.

On the eve of a September 1996 trip by Samper to address the UN
General Assembly in New York, authorities discovered 8 pounds of
heroin stashed in the luggage compartment and nose of the presidential
Boeing 707.

The incident was a major embarrassment for Samper, whose government
already was in upheaval over revelations that Cali drug traffickers
helped financed his 1994 campaign.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry