International drug smuggling ring broken up in New York

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Police Tuesday arrested and charged 18 people involved in an international drug smuggling operation running through JFK Airport in New York, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said.

Ten of the suspects are airport employees who helped hide suitcases of cocaine and heroin arriving at JFK on commercial flights from the Dominican Republic, according to the charges revealed by the DEA.

Authorities seized 46 kilogrammes of cocaine and 25 kilogrammes of heroin along with the arrests Tuesday morning, after a two-year investigation, the DEA said.

Ten of the individuals are charged with conspiracy to import a controlled substance and could face life in prison, while eight others are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and could face up to 20 years.

Led by Henry Polanco out of a section of Manhattan, the DEA charged that the ring smuggled "large quantities" of heroin and cocaine into the country from the Dominican Republic. Airline employees at JFK "diverted the contraband to a 'safe' area before the luggage could be inspected by law enforcment," the DEA said. dpa cc