LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6 -- Seven people have been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with an international drug running ring, and authorities say they seized 25 tons of hashish on the high seas. U.S. Attorney Nora Manella says three of the men are believed to be high-ranking members of the cartel that allegedly specialized in exporting hashish to North America and Europe since the early 1980s. Law enforcement officials from around the world tracked a 'mother ship' loaded with 25 tons of hashish to the South Pacific, where eight tons were put on a ship bound for Australia.
Australian police grabbed the drugs on Dec. 12 and arrested 18 people. The same day, about 17.5 tons of hashish were off-loaded from the mother ship to a barge manned by undercover U.S. drug agents. That was the biggest quantity of hashish ever confiscated by U.S. officials in an undercover operation. It had a wholesale value of more than $150 million. The seven people facing conspiracy and drug trafficking charges today (Thursday) were arrested in late January. Vagn Bo Larsen, 44, Charles Staunton, 38, and Wanda Marie Halpert, 45, are being held by Canadian authorities pending U.S. extradition proceedings. Gary Matsuzaki, 43, Brian Alan Auchard, 38, and Doug Martin Secor, 45, are being held in the United States. David Kulik, a 43-year-old Canadian-born naturalized U.S. citizen was deported to the United States after being arrested in Mexico. ---
Copyright 1997 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
