Suspected Head of European Drug Ring Is Arrested

An Iranian man arrested in Reseda on charges that he headed a major European drug-smuggling ring is scheduled for arraignment in Los Angeles on Tuesday, an Immigration and Naturalization Service official said Saturday.

Ali Maleki, 60, is sought by Italian authorities on charges that he smuggled heroin and opium through that country as well as Bulgaria, Germany and Austria, said John Brechtel, assistant INS district director.

Brechtel said Maleki was arrested at his son’s Reseda home Thursday by INS agents and federal marshals, who were tipped to his whereabouts by Interpol, the international police agency.

“He is considered a fairly big-time mover of narcotics in Italy and elsewhere,” Brechtel said.

Brechtel said Italian authorities in 1985 seized more than 3,600 pounds of heroin and more than 12,000 pounds of opium from the ring allegedly headed by Maleki. The organization is based in Florence, Brechtel said.

Maleki is not suspected of violating any U.S. laws and was arrested on a warrant issued by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, acting at the request of Italian authorities, Brechtel said.

Maleki is expected to be arraigned in federal court Tuesday, Brechtel said. No date for an extradition hearing has been set.

Maleki, a resident alien, was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, but an official there could not say Saturday if Maleki remained in custody or had posted bail. It was unclear whether Maleki lived with his son or maintained another residence.