28 accused of smuggling drugs from Honduras to Va.
May 10, 2012, 7:57 PM
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) – Federal authorities have arrested 28 people and charged them with participating in a cocaine-smuggling ring that brought millions of dollars in drugs from Honduras to northern Virginia over the past six years.
Court records indicated that many of those arrested were illegal immigrants living in northern Virginia.
The smugglers would bring in several pounds of cocaine at a time by hiding it in common items like shoes and wooden frames on flights from Honduras to the United States.
Members of the ring allegedly wired more than $1 million from the U.S. back to suppliers in Honduras.
The 28 face prosecution in federal court in Alexandria. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia said Thursday that the defendants face from five to 40 years in prison.
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