Venezuela arrests five more in Air France cocaine bust
Venezuela arrests five more in Air France cocaine bust
AFP Updated September 27, 2013, 6:55 am
Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela has arrested five more people in a smuggling case in which 1.3 tonnes of cocaine were flown from Caracas to Paris on an Air France jet, officials said Thursday.
This brings the total number of arrests in Venezuela to 22, including eight members of the military.
The rest are airport or Air France employees, Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres said.
The minister gave no details on the new detainees.
The drugs arrived in Paris on September 11, concealed inside 30 suitcases that no one came forward to claim. The cocaine has an estimated street value of 200 million euros ($270 million). It was the biggest coke seizure ever on French soil.
"There is a bit of everything among those who participated in this process, from the time the suitcase arrives at the airport to when it is put aboard the aircraft," the minister said.
In France, three Italians and two Britons have been arrested in the case.
Rodriguez Torres said French anti-drug police have told the Venezuelans this case involves an Italian-British gang that buys drugs in South America and distributes them in Europe.
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http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/19118898/venezuela-arrests-five-more-in-air-france-cocaine-bust/
