New York police have busted a drug-smuggling ring that was allegedly netting more than US$75M a year running cocaine between Guyana and New York.

Thirteen people have been arrested among them more baggage handlers at John F. Kennedy Airport. Authorities have identified three Guyanese "kingpins" who have yet to be arrested. One Guyanese with a local address in Subryanville is reportedly being held on US$10 million bail.

This is the second such high profile bust in four months. In November, 25 baggage and cargo handlers were charged for involvement in diverting cocaine-filled luggage sent via flights from Guyana. Local investigators say that Guyanese here are to be charged in this matter. Just recently, former national cyclist Paul Cho-wee-nam was charged in relation to another US drug find.

In this latest bust the defendants were arrested 10 days ago and secretly arraigned in the Brooklyn Supreme Court on conspiracy, weapons and drug possession charges. According to New York Newsday, nine suspects face up to life in prison on charges of criminal sale and criminal possession of drugs. Four other suspects charged with drug conspiracy face up to 25 years in prison.

"Operation Direct Connection," as police dubbed the investigation, kicked off about 18 months ago, shortly after a routine search warrant involving drugs helped police develop information that for the past 10 years or so cocaine distributors in Guyana had been sending the drug to the city. At a press conference yesterday morning, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Charles J. Hynes, the King's County District Attorney announced the arrest of the 13.

Kelly said baggage handlers working for BWIA were paid to slip the mail bags holding cocaine onto the planes.

The bag numbers and descriptions would then be relayed to New York distributors, who would pass the information along to JFK baggage handlers they had recruited, Kelly said.

A NYPD press release stated, "This ring is believed to have sold in excess of 600 kilogrammes a year with a street value of $75 million. The arrests by the Brooklyn North Narcotics Major Case Squad were all part of "Operation Direct Connec-tion." Those arrested face charges including drug conspiracy, gun and drug possession and money laundering. This group was international in scope and employed operatives at every level of a drug enterprise. Participants in Guyana purchased large amounts of cocaine and transported the loads to the United States through John F. Kennedy International Airport via commercial air planes.

Once in New York, members of the gang who worked as baggage handlers at JFK used their positions to circumvent inspection. The group maintained a network for both wholesale and retail distribution of the narcotics. Proceeds of this operation were returned to Guyana where additional members of the gang laundered the cash. Ten warrants were executed in this operation and the arrested included Cleon Earl and his common-law wife, Kimberly Brown. Ms. Brown is employed as a New York City Corrections Officer. In their house, the officers located a loaded .45 calibre handgun sitting on the stereo, along with a large cache of drugs, while two children under 12 years of age were playing in the residence. To the detectives' amazement, most of the drugs seized in the raids were barely hidden. For example, several kilos of cocaine sat inside of a gym bag in plain sight. The officers on this case seized a total of (US)$400,000, 5 vehicles, 3 guns and 50 kilos of cocaine."

In its 2003 report, the US State Department warned that drug traffickers have their sights on Guyana.