Colombian drug traffickers charged

NEW YORK, May 6 (UPI) -- Nine leaders of Colombia's most powerful cocaine cartels have been indicted in Washington on racketeering charges, the Justice Department said Thursday.

The charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act were unsealed Thursday.

The department said those charged include leaders of a cartel allegedly responsible for exporting more than 500 metric tons of cocaine, valued at more than $10 billion, from Colombia to the United States.

Three of the defendants have been named as "most wanted" international drug trafficking targets by federal law enforcement. One of the defendants has been added to the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" fugitives list.

The United States is offering rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of those defendants.

Some of those charged were the leaders of the Norte Valle Cartel, which operated principally in the Norte Valle del Cauca region of Colombia.

The cartel used the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, a right-wing paramilitary group identified by the State Department as a terrorist organization, to protect the cartel's drug routes, drug laboratories and members.