Federal agents dismantled a Colombian heroin ring by arresting several couriers who stitched packets of drugs into their britches and then took cruise ships to the United States, authorities said yesterday.
"Drug traffickers have never lacked creativity in trying to smuggle in their drugs," said John Gilbride, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York office.
"But smuggling drugs aboard cruise ships is a new twist, as traffickers try to do an end run around airport security."
The investigation, dubbed "Operation Death Merchant," charged 10 people in Manhattan and 20 others in Colombia with smuggling more than $7.5 million worth of heroin into the U.S.
Several couriers hid the drugs inside running shorts and the soles of their shoes. Others carried suitcases and purses packed with smack.
Agents seized 55 kilos of heroin in all, enough to flood the streets with more than a million glassine bags of smack. Seventy-six kilos of coke also were seized off a "go-fast" boat that had departed from Venezuela.
The drugs made their way from Pereira, Colombia, to New York, Baltimore and Detroit, authorities said.
The probe was a joint venture between the DEA, NYPD, New York state police and Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Yesterday's charges bring to 110 the number of people charged internationally during the three-year probe.
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