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| Cocaine Haul on French Jet Raises Concern | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| PARIS — A record haul of cocaine, found in suitcases here on an Air France flight arriving from Venezuela, is raising a multitude of questions about the security of the baggage scanning system and the possibility of collusion by either airport or airline staff members both in Venezuela and France. | PARIS — A record haul of cocaine, found in suitcases here on an Air France flight arriving from Venezuela, is raising a multitude of questions about the security of the baggage scanning system and the possibility of collusion by either airport or airline staff members both in Venezuela and France. |
| The seizure this month at Charles de Gaulle Airport was disclosed Saturday by the interior minister, Manuel Valls, but French officials would not specify when they had impounded the cocaine or the exact circumstances. | The seizure this month at Charles de Gaulle Airport was disclosed Saturday by the interior minister, Manuel Valls, but French officials would not specify when they had impounded the cocaine or the exact circumstances. |
| Mr. Valls, who showed the cocaine, tightly wrapped in plastic, on French television, said there had been 1.3 metric tons, or about 2,900 pounds, with a value of $67 million. Others put the value considerably higher. The suitcases that had contained the cocaine were hard-sided rolling bags in glossy, bright colors, and television images showed them stacked against a wall at the office of a special division of the French police that focuses on drugs. | Mr. Valls, who showed the cocaine, tightly wrapped in plastic, on French television, said there had been 1.3 metric tons, or about 2,900 pounds, with a value of $67 million. Others put the value considerably higher. The suitcases that had contained the cocaine were hard-sided rolling bags in glossy, bright colors, and television images showed them stacked against a wall at the office of a special division of the French police that focuses on drugs. |
| As of Monday, six people were in police custody, said a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office, Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre. She said that not one of the six was French; news agencies reported that three were British and three were Italian. In Venezuela, three members of the National Guard were detained. | As of Monday, six people were in police custody, said a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office, Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre. She said that not one of the six was French; news agencies reported that three were British and three were Italian. In Venezuela, three members of the National Guard were detained. |
| The haul was remarkable both for the amount, the largest ever in France, and for its arrival by air, said Thomas Pietschmann, research officer at the Studies and Threat Analysis section of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, which tracks drug trafficking worldwide. | The haul was remarkable both for the amount, the largest ever in France, and for its arrival by air, said Thomas Pietschmann, research officer at the Studies and Threat Analysis section of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, which tracks drug trafficking worldwide. |
| “To have one ton on an airplane is exceptionally high,” Mr. Pietschmann said. “It starts from a few grams to a few kilos.” | “To have one ton on an airplane is exceptionally high,” Mr. Pietschmann said. “It starts from a few grams to a few kilos.” |
| For many years, much of the cocaine consumed in Europe arrived via a wayward route, first put on boats in South America and sent to West Africa, then transported over land. In the last six or seven years, however, seizures have diminished even though European cocaine consumption has remained unchanged, Mr. Pietschmann said. | For many years, much of the cocaine consumed in Europe arrived via a wayward route, first put on boats in South America and sent to West Africa, then transported over land. In the last six or seven years, however, seizures have diminished even though European cocaine consumption has remained unchanged, Mr. Pietschmann said. |
| “For a long time, we were asking how was it going in,” he said. “There was a black hole.” | “For a long time, we were asking how was it going in,” he said. “There was a black hole.” |
| “Of course, one seizure case is too little to say there is a trend, but if there were a second or third airplane seizure like this,” he said, then researchers could begin to better understand the trafficking pattern. | “Of course, one seizure case is too little to say there is a trend, but if there were a second or third airplane seizure like this,” he said, then researchers could begin to better understand the trafficking pattern. |
| Air France officials would not comment, but the airline put out a statement saying t it had undertaken an internal investigation. | Air France officials would not comment, but the airline put out a statement saying t it had undertaken an internal investigation. |
| “At this stage, the information in our possession does not allow us to establish how such events were possible taking into account the company’s very strict procedures in terms of the monitoring of the luggage and merchandise loaded aboard — in particular in this type of airport,” the statement said. | “At this stage, the information in our possession does not allow us to establish how such events were possible taking into account the company’s very strict procedures in terms of the monitoring of the luggage and merchandise loaded aboard — in particular in this type of airport,” the statement said. |