12 individuals indicted, arrested for drug trafficking in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Six former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees, three airline workers and three other individuals were arrested Monday for drug trafficking. The investigation that spurred the arrests was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with the assistance of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), TSA, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) and the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD).

The indictment, unsealed Monday, alleges that during the course of the conspiracy, the defendants smuggled suitcases, each containing at least eight to 15 kilograms of cocaine, through the TSA security system at the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (LMMIA). At times they used as many as five mules on each flight, with each mule checking-in up to two suitcases. From 1998 through 2016, the defendants helped smuggle approximately 20 tons of cocaine through LMMIA.

Six current and former TSA employees, Jose Cruz-Lopez, Luis Vázquez-Acevedo, Keila Carrasquillo, Carlos Rafael Adorno-Hiraldo, Antonio Vargas-Saavedra and Daniel Cruz-Echevarria allegedly smuggled multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine while employed as TSA officers at the San Juan airport. Their full time responsibilities were to provide security and baggage screening for checked and carry-on luggage that was to be placed on outbound flights from the LMMIA. During the duration of the conspiracy, these TSA employees smuggled multikilogram quantities of cocaine through the TSA X-ray machines within LMMIA and onto airplanes without detection.

According to the superseding indictment, defendants Edwin Francisco Castro, Luis Vazquez-Acevedo and Ferdinand Lopez became facilitators between the drug trafficking organizations and the TSA employees who smuggled the cocaine into the airplanes. Defendant Miguel Angel Perez-Rodriguez, who worked for the airport security company, was a source of supply of cocaine to the drug trafficking organization.

Defendant Javier Ortiz began assisting drug trafficking organizations as an employee of Airport Aviation Services (AAS) as a baggage handler/ramp employee. During the time of the conspiracy Ortiz used to pick up suitcases he knew contained cocaine from the mules at the airline check-in counter. Ortiz would then place the suitcases into the X-ray machines being monitored by the TSA drug trafficking organization members, who cleared the suitcases. After the suitcases had been cleared by TSA members, Ortiz took the suitcases to their designated flight, making sure no narcotic K-9 unit or law enforcement personnel were present when the suitcase went from the checkpoint to the airplane. Once the suitcases were loaded into the airplane, defendant Ortiz would make a phone call to a drug trafficking organization member indicating the all-clear and the mules would then board the airplane. Ortiz also paid the TSA employees for clearing the suitcases through TSA security.

Defendant Tomas Dominguez-Rohena assisted the drug trafficking organization by taking the suitcases he knew contained cocaine after they had been cleared by TSA members or smuggled passed security to their designated flight. Defendant Jose Gabriel Lopez-Mercado was a mule for the criminal organization.

This investigation was initiated by TSA as part of its efforts to address employee misconduct and specific insider threat vulnerabilities. TSA has zero tolerance for employees engaged in criminal activity to facilitate contraband smuggling,” said José Baquero, federal security director for Puerto Rico and the and U.S. Virgin Islands.

This case is part of the ongoing efforts of the ICE HSI-led Airport Investigations and Tactical Team (AirTAT) initiative launched in January 2015. AirTAT is a multiagency initiative created to identify, locate, disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute domestic and transnational criminal organizations and its operatives using the LMMIA, the Fernando Luis Rivas Dominicci Airport (the Isla Grande airport) and peripheral airports as platforms to smuggle narcotics, weapons, human cargo, counterfeit documents, illicit proceeds and others. These airports play a strategic role for drug trafficking organizations to conduct contraband smuggling activities inbound and outbound to the continental United States as well as internationally.

If convicted the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years up to life in prison.