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8 charged in cocaine smuggling caseOperation used airliners headed into New York, officials say
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Eight people, including seven current or former Colombian police officers, have been charged in an alleged plot to smuggle $10 million worth of cocaine into New York on airliners, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The officers and an employee of the Colombian airline Avianca are in custody in Colombia, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. attorney's office in New York. The indictment in the case alleges that between August and December of last year members of a Colombian cartel recruited police officials responsible for airport security and airline employees to allow drugs to be smuggled from Colombia to Mexico and, ultimately, the United States. The arrests were the result of a joint investigation by the DEA and the U.S. attorney's office in New York along with Colombian and Mexican officials. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has reached a settlement with Avianca requiring it to take several measures to stop what officials call repeated seizures of illegal drugs from its flights into John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, CNN has learned. The agreement is being filed in U.S. District Court in New York after an attempt to seize some of the airline's interests. Officials said the required measures include hiring a private agency to monitor the airline's anti-smuggling efforts concerning drugs, explosives and weapons. CNN's Kevin Bohn contributed to this report. 
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