3 DUTCH MARINES ARRESTED AS DRUG SMUGGLERS

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Three Dutch marines involved in drug-control
efforts in the Caribbean have been arrested in connection with the
smuggling of close to 700 pounds of cocaine to the Netherlands.

The drugs were carried on a military plane that was normally used in the
anti-drug campaign in the Dutch Antilles, the islands off the Venezuelan
coast.

Although the Dutch are known for their lenient policy toward soft drugs,
the discovery of the smuggling, which involved hard drugs that are strictly
outlawed, has infuriated the government. According to government
investigators, the marines apparently were acting as couriers for civilian
drug smugglers based in South America and the Netherlands.

They could apparently carry their goods with ease, because there is little
customs control over military forces on the Dutch island of Curacao, their
point of departure, or on the military air base in the Netherlands that was
their destination.

The discovery of the smuggling route is an embarrassment for the Dutch
government, which is expecting an official visit from Gen. Barry McCaffrey,
the American drugs policy adviser, on Thursday.

That visit has itself stirred anger in the government. Although the general
is ostensibly coming here to observe how the Dutch and other European
countries cope with drug use, before his arrival he condemned the Dutch
drug policy in an interview as "an unmitigated disaster."

So far, three marines and 11 civilians have been arrested in the last few
days in connection with the smuggling.

Government investigators apparently had been watching the network since
March before they intercepted a load of cocaine as marines brought it off
the plane in bags in the Netherlands. Another 100 pounds of cocaine were
found in the home of a Dutch sergeant major living in Curacao.

The minister of defense said the behavior of the marines was "scandalous."
He said that "military who deal in drugs are fired." One of the arrested
men served aboard the Dutch frigate, Pieter Florisz, a ship that patrols
the Caribbean around the Antilles in order to intercept drug smuggling and
coordinate with similar American efforts.

Investigators said that they were struck by the casual and easy way the
couriers could operate: They simply carried military canvas bags holding
the drugs on to the plane they were taking from Curacao back to the
Netherlands or asked colleagues to take an extra bag for them.

At one point, one of the three men, the sergeant major, found that he had
too large a load to send on the plane, so he casually took the remainder
home, according to investigators who found about 100 pounds in the man's
home in Curacao.

Investigators said the military men had little idea where the drugs were
bought or where they would end up because they carried the drugs for an
organization of "big guys" based in Amsterdam.

A spokesman for the Dutch navy said that he could not be certain that
military aircraft or vessels had never been used before for drug smuggling
and that professional drug syndicates that operate in the Caribbean
"inevitably pose a risk." From now on, he said, all military luggage will
be closely inspected.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski