Longshoremen charged with cocaine trafficking

Longshoremen charged with cocaine trafficking    The U.S. attorney in Manhattan charged eight longshoremen and three others with cocaine trafficking this week.
   A two-year investigation led to the seizure of 1.3 metric tons of cocaine worth more than $34 million and led to charges against 11 additional persons for a $7 million stock fraud scheme.
   “The public places great trust in the longshoremen who work at our ports. But their integrity is all that stands between our border and those who seek to bring contraband — and worse — into our country,' said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. 'The Port of New York and New Jersey is one of the most important hubs for commerce and trade in the world. And, in today's world, we simply can't afford to have a single corrupt longshoreman.”
   The investigation, led by the Drug Enforcement Administration revealed that a Panamanian drug trafficking organization was importing 100-kilogram shipments of cocaine hidden inside containers traveling through the Panama Canal, worth millions of dollars each, into secure areas of the port. The cocaine then was distributed in the Bronx and Manhattan, among other places.
   During the course of the investigation, federal and Panamanian law enforcement authorities identified a freight-forwarding operation that removed the cocaine-laden containers from secure areas of the port.
   The investigation found a local drug-trafficking operation relied on longshoremen to remove the cocaine from containers while they were in secure areas of the port.
   The investigation into criminal conduct at the port uncovered a sprawling, multimillion-dollar “pump and dump” stock fraud scheme that used multiple Web sites, Facebook pages, and Twitter “feeds” to defraud the investing public into purchasing stocks that were being manipulated by participants in the conspiracy.
   The stock fraud was uncovered when investigators identified a longshoreman operating at the port who received money from others to generate trading volume that “pumped” stock prices in penny stocks. ' Chris Dupin