MILITARY, LAW OFFICERS ARE CAUGHT IN FBI DRUG STING

TUCSON, Ariz (AP) FBI agents posing as cocaine traffickers in Arizona
caught 16 current and former U.S. soldiers and law enforcement personnel
who took about $220,000 in bribes to help move the drugs through
checkpoints, Justice Department officials said Thursday.

Those charged include a former Immigration and Naturalization Service
inspector, a former Army sergeant, a former federal prison guard, current
and former members of the Arizona Army National Guard and the state
corrections department, and a Nogales police officer, officials said.

"Many individuals charged were sworn personnel having the task of
protecting society and securing America's borders. The importance of these
tasks cannot be overstated and we cannot tolerate, nor can the American
people afford, this type of dereliction," FBI agent Jana D. Monroe, who
directs the bureau's operations in Arizona, said during a news conference
in Tucson.