MIAMI, July 31 (Reuter) Six American Airlines mechanics were arrested for
allegedly helping to smuggle illegal drugs into the United States aboard
passenger jets from South America, U.S. authorities announced on Thursday.

It was the second major drug ring involving airline employees cracked by U.S.
authorities in two days.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in San Juan, Puerto
Rico, announced 12 members of a smuggling ring, most of them past or current
Delta Air Lines workers, had been indicted on smuggling charges.

The American Airlines employees unloaded ``significant'' quantities of
cocaine and heroin that had been secreted in various compartments, including
the cockpits, of passenger jets arriving from Colombia, authorities said.

``These are mechanics who have clearance to go on the planes,'' FBI
spokeswoman Anne Figueiras said. ``They were running a drug trafficking
operation where they were offloading quantities of cocaine from the planes.''

Jose Felipe Chetrancola, 24, Robert Granados, 52, Carlos Antonio Rodriguez,
34, Jose Rubio, 48, Carlos Arce, 27, and Mario Humberto Gomez, 35, all of
Miami, were charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute
narcotics.

Each count carries a minimum penalty of ten years in prison and a $1 million
fine.

Authorities said another American mechanic, Carlos Arturo Bermejo, 41, of
Miami, was also charged in the conspiracy and was considered a fugitive.

Another alleged member of the ring, American Airlines mechanic Martin
Flaquer, was murdered in Florida in April 1996. The slaying was under
investigation but its connection to the smuggling operation was uncertain,
authorities said.

Figueiras said American Airlines had helped authorities in the investigation.
Some of the cocaine, about 130 lbs (60 kg), was discovered by American
employees in Dallas, Texas.

``American works closely with law enforcement organisations throughout the
world on a wide range of matters, and cooperated fully with the FBI in the
investigation that led to the arrests announced today,'' American spokesman
Al Becker said in a recorded message.

On Thursday, DEA officials said the Delta Air Lines employees were helping to
ship Colombian cocaine through San Juan's Luis Munoz Marin International
Airport. Nine people were arrested and three were being sought.

The Caribbean has become major cocaine waystation in recent years, as tons of
Colombian cocaine is moved through the islands to Miami, where organised
distribution rings ship it to the rest of the United States.

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