$270 million worth of cocaine on Air France flight from Venezuela - that's an effin' stash for sure

[malaise]

http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-arrests-three-air-france-cocaine-case-045657715.html
<snip>

Nine people are being held in France and Venezuela in connection with the seizure of 1.3 tonnes of cocaine stashed in suitcases on an Air France flight, police said Monday.

Confirmation that six people were in custody in France followed Venezuela's announcement on Sunday that three members of their security services had been detained on suspicion of involvement in smuggling that led to the biggest cocaine seizure ever on French soil.

The drugs with an estimated street value of 200 million euros ($270m) were found inside 30 suitcases on a Caracas-Paris flight, according to French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, who announced the seizure on Saturday.

Venezuela's justice and interior minister, Miguel Rodriguez, said Sunday that an officer from the anti-drug unit of the Bolivarian National Guard and two National Guard sergeants had been arrested.

Rodriguez said it was highly likely the smugglers had accomplices within Air France working with them. The airline has ordered an internal investigation and says it is working closely with the police over an incident that has, at the very least, exposed serious lapses in its security procedures in Caracas.

The six suspects come from two European countries, one of which is Italy, they said, adding that the smuggling was most likely organised by the 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia said to be behind 80 percent of the cocaine trade in Europe.

[Cali_Democrat]

1. I want some of that!

Party time!

I kid...I kid....