AUTHORITIES BREAK JFK COCAINE, HEROIN RING

Federal authorities said they have busted an international drug
smuggling ring that included 10 John F. Kennedy airport airline employees.

A total of 18 people were arrested after customs enforcement agents
used surveillance and wiretaps to investigate the smuggling network,
which allegedly transported drugs to Washington Heights from the
Dominican Republic. Authorities said they confiscated more than 46
kilograms of cocaine, 25 kilograms of heroin, and a quantity of MDMA,
or ecstasy.

The operation was led by a Washington Heights resident, [redacted],
authorities said yesterday.

A Delta Airlines employee, [redacted], allegedly directed other JFK
employees from inside the airport, where members of the drug ring
unloaded luggage containing drugs into so-called safe areas before law
enforcement inspected it. Corrupt airline employees in the Dominican
Republic were also involved, the federal complaint said.

A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Mark Thorn, said
members of the ring had "abused their position of trust," and
"exploited a vulnerability at the airport of entry at JFK." A Delta
Airlines representative said the arrested Delta employees had been
suspended without pay, and noted the airline had been cooperating in
the investigation for several months. She said Delta complies with
Transportation Security Administration requirements that all employees
entering secure zones at airports undergo 10-year criminal background
checks, a new requirement following the September 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks.

One of the arrested airport employees worked for American Airlines,
which did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment.