MIAMI, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Officials in Puerto Rico confirmed Wednesday a massive drug bust that included 23 arrests has ties to Orlando International Airport in Florida.
The indictment unsealed Tuesday on Operation Heavy Cargo shows a federal grand jury indicted the suspects, including nine American Airlines employees, on Sept. 9, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday.
Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bayamon Drug Force, the Puerto Rico Police Department and the FBI arrested the suspects Tuesday in Puerto Rico and Miami.
"Although the indictment does not mention Orlando, it is part of our investigation," said Lymarie V. Llovet-Ayala, the U.S. attorney's spokeswoman in Puerto Rico. "That information will be released later."
Llovet-Ayala said all suspects are residents of Puerto Rico.
The narcotics ring began its operation in 1999 and smuggled nearly $20 million in cocaine from Puerto Rico into the United States through Orlando and Miami, authorities said.
In Orlando, an airport spokeswoman said she was unaware of any airline workers being involved in the drug bust.
An American Airlines spokesman said in an e-mail to CNN the airline was aware that arrests were made but couldn't discuss specifics because of the company's privacy regulations. The spokesman said airline officials were working with authorities.
The four-count indictment alleges the suspected ringleader, Wilfredo Rodriguez Rosado, recruited several American Airlines employees to watch over cocaine-laden suitcases that later were distributed across the United States.
Officials said most of the commercial fights ferrying drug-filled suitcases came into San Juan, a major trans-shipment point for drugs earmarked for U.S. mainland cities, CNN reported.
In the indictment, the Justice Department also sought to seize $18 million worth of property owned by the suspects, including seven homes, three businesses and an apartment complex.
