SCAM ALLEGEDLY HID DRUGS AS SANTA'S TOYS

CLEVELAND - The packages were labeled as toys for good girls and boys and
the business was called Santa's Helpers. But authorities say the packages
were nothing more than a naughty ruse to cover a large-scale drug smuggling
operation.

The bogus business tried to smuggle $7.8 million worth of cocaine from Los
Angeles to nearby Willoughby, authorities said. Drug agents seized about
175 pounds of cocaine Monday in the largest seizure in Cleveland this year.

Four 55-gallon steel drums used as shipping containers raised suspicions.
Billing information said the barrels contained toys, novelties and games.

Federal prosecutors charged Edward Boynton, 35, of Inglewood, Calif., with
intent to possess cocaine. Boynton appeared in U.S. District Court on
Tuesday. His attorney, Mary Jo Tipping, had no comment.

Authorities say police learned Friday of suspicious packages at the Roadway
Express offices. Officers brought in a police dog, which picked up the
scent of drugs. Officers confiscated the drums and called the Drug
Enforcement Agency.

Authorities say Boynton drove a rented truck to the business on Monday. He
wore a coat and a T-shirt with the logo "Santa's Helpers" and had paperwork
and tracking information for the shipment.

Boynton told authorities that he had flown from Los Angeles to Cleveland to
meet the shipment.

Willoughby police stopped him as he left.

Boynton was being held without bond pending additional hearings.