MONTEREY PARK : Man Who Carried Cocaine on Board Jet Is Convicted
A Monterey Park man was convicted Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court on drug charges stemming from his arrest at Los Angeles International Airport when he and an accomplice attempted to board a plane with more than 20 kilograms of cocaine.
Manabu John Furukawa, 23, and a co-defendant, Jon Ya Woo, also 23, who pleaded guilty before trial, will be sentenced June 21. They face a minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and could receive life terms.
The two men were arrested Nov. 30, 1992, when they tried to board a flight to Chicago while carrying cocaine in two large suitcases padded with disposable diapers.
“This case is a sad one,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Alicia Amador, who called the pair “two middle-class kids from respectable families who got caught up in trafficking drugs for the quick money.”
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