U.S. Jails Accused Master Drug Smuggler

The man accused of being the Medellin cocaine cartel’s master smuggler was handed over to U.S. narcotics agents before dawn Sunday at a Bogota, Colombia, airport, then flown here and arraigned on drug charges, authorities said.

Jose Abello Silva was the fifth and most important drug trafficking suspect extradited from Colombia to the United States since Colombia began a drug crackdown 10 weeks ago. Eight more Colombian drug trafficking suspects are being held for extradition.

Abello was taken under heavy guard to federal court, where he pleaded innocent to charges of conspiracy and distribution of cocaine, said U.S. Atty. Tony Graham. There was no discussion of bond.

Graham, who would not give the name of the judge for security reasons, said Abello would remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending another hearing Thursday.

“The arrest and extradition of Abello Silva represent a significant step in the federal anti-drug offensive because the indictment alleges that he had agreed to be the source of cocaine in Colombia that was supplied to the trafficking ring,” acting Marshals Service Director John J. Twomey said in a statement released in Washington.

Abello was arrested Oct. 10 in a Bogota restaurant. Police said he had undergone plastic surgery to avoid detection.

He was turned over to Colombia’s secret police, the Administrative Security Department, and held under provisional arrest while the U.S. Justice Department forwarded the extradition papers.

Abello was indicted by a federal grand jury in Tulsa on Sept. 2, 1987, along with Florida stockbroker Frank Palmero. Palmero later was convicted on drug distribution charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Abello allegedly traveled to Aruba in 1986 and conspired with convicted cocaine trafficker Boris Olarte-Morales, Palmero and others to import 500 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.

According to the indictment against Abello, more than 1,700 pounds of cocaine were brought into the United States by Abello’s trafficking ring. The indictment also said the conspiracy involved the importation of more than 6,200 pounds of marijuana into the U.S.

Cornelius Dougherty, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said Abello “was considered a major transporter for the Medellin cartel.”

Although Abello is the most important drug trafficking suspect snared so far in the drug crackdown, he does not figure in the U.S. Justice Department’s list of the 12 most wanted traffickers.

Colombia has not captured any of the suspects on the list, who include the leaders of the Medellin and Cali cartels.

The two gangs are said by DEA officials to be responsible for smuggling at least 300 tons of cocaine into the United States each year.

Abello was in charge of the entire north coast of Colombia for the Medellin cartel, police said.

It is in the north coast ports of Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta that tons of cocaine are stashed aboard rusty coastal freighters working the coast of Central America and Mexico.

The north coast also is the site of scores of clandestine runways.