DRUG RING ARRESTS

More than three dozen members and associates of an alleged Albanian
organized-crime syndicate have been charged in a long-running scheme
to smuggle cocaine, marijuana and prescription drugs into the U.S., as
well as Canada and Europe, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

A federal indictment outlined the purported decadelong scheme-and
revealed an array of colorful nicknames the defendants allegedly used:
"The Bear," "Juicehead," "Fat Ange," "Jo-Jo," "The Kid," "Lucky" and
"Little Guy," among others. Some echoed the monikers of Italian
organized crime. A man named Faik Mehmeti was known as "Frank Nitti,"
according to the indictment.

The roundup included the arrests of 30 individuals in the New York
City area and one defendant in Florida on Wednesday. Five members of
the alleged syndicate, which was comprised of interrelated Albanian
clans, were already in custody in the U.S.

One of the alleged ringleaders directed the scheme while serving a
five-year prison sentence in Albania, using smuggled cellular phones
and BlackBerrys, prosecutors said. The U.S. plans to seek his
extradition.

Lawyers for the defendants couldn't be reached for
comment.

The scheme allegedly included shipments of marijuana hidden among
seemingly legitimate goods in tractor trailers from Canada and Mexico,
as well as drugs hidden in secret compartments in luxury automobiles
headed for Europe, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said in a detention
letter filed in connection with the case.

The vehicles were shipped to legitimate car dealerships controlled by
members of the syndicate, prosecutors said.

The charges include operating a continuing criminal enterprise, a
variety of drug conspiracies, a money-laundering conspiracy and use of
firearms related to drug trafficking.

Prosecutors also alleged that the syndicate used the services of a
Canadian money-laundering organization, including laundering more than
$15 million of the syndicate's narcotics proceeds in one year.

Prior to Wednesday's arrests, the syndicate was allegedly involved in
negotiations to obtain hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from South
America, some of which would be shipped to Canada in exchange for
high-grade hydroponic marijuana, prosecutors said.