Authorities break up Colombian heroin networks

Federal authorities say they have dismantled three major drug trafficking networks that smuggled Colombian heroin into the U.S. by sewing the powdery drug into clothing and suitcases.

Forty-four people have been indicted in five countries, including Colombia and the Dominican Republic, as part of the four-year probe Operation Jacket Racket, which tracked the heroin pipeline from Colombia to East Coast cities.

Much of the heroin, authorities said, was smuggled into the U.S. through the Calexico Port of Entry in California’s Imperial Valley. Mexican smugglers wore custom-made clothing concealing the drugs, according to the indictments unsealed Wednesday.

A jacket -- its lining packed with heroin -- could hold as much as 2 pounds of the drug, and a pair of pants could carry a pound, said Laura Duffy, an assistant U.S. attorney in San Diego.

Heroin also was hidden in blankets and tables.

The case is one of the first to expose new heroin trafficking routes since federal authorities after 9/11 began disrupting the traditional pipelines to the East Coast via Panama. Most of the heroin now is believed to be coming through the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said.

During the course of Operation Jacket Racket, authorities seized about 350 kilos of heroin, 220 kilos of cocaine and $1 million in counterfeit U.S. currency. Major distribution rings were discovered in San Diego, New York City and New Jersey, authorities said.

Eighteen people were arrested in California, seven in Mexico, one in Costa Rica and nine in Colombia, authorities said. They will be arraigned in coming weeks on money laundering, drug trafficking and other charges.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s special operations division coordinated the multi-agency investigation.

richard.marosi@latimes.com