The Nation : 26 Indicted in Drug Ring

A federal grand jury has indicted 26 persons in a $100-million, coast-to-coast drug trafficking ring that allegedly laundered its profits through Oriental rug and gem businesses in several states, including California, federal authorities announced in Washington. Since 1974, the indictment charged, the ring has distributed almost 300 tons of marijuana and hashish from Colombia, Mexico and Lebanon throughout the United States. Its assets include more than 1,000 acres of farmland in suburban Virginia and Maryland, a condominium in the Virgin Islands and gold and silver bullion, Justice Department officials said.