"Feds bust Salt Lake City Airport drug smuggling operation"

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Feds bust airport smuggling operation
By Brent Hunsaker
KTVX-TV Ch 4 (ABC), Salt Lake City (UT)


SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Three Utah men are charged with smuggling
drugs through the Salt Lake International Airport. A federal indictment was
unsealed Friday afternoon.

What's alarming is that those named -- three men from the salt lake valley
-- could have just as easily been smuggling weapons or even a bomb.

Here's what federal investigators say happened:

Back in June, 29-year old Oswaldo Rosas who is a contract employee at the
airport, met 42-year old Angel Segura in the short term parking garage at
the airport.

Rosas took a package said to contain 3-kilos of crystal meth and he put it
in a backpack

The complaint stated, "Rosas then proceeded to take the backpack through a
secure employee door and then into the Delta Sky lounge."

In other words, Rosa and the drugs bypassed the TSA checkpoint.

Meanwhile, Segura strolled through just like any other airline passenger.
He met up with Rosas in the lounge, took back the package and boarded a
flight for Atlanta, Georgia..

This process was apparently repeated.

The FBI, TSA and Salt Lake airport police cooperated on the investigation.
The result was a 10-count indictment against not only Segura and Rosas, but
also 20-year old Jesus Aleman of Salt Lake City.

All three could go away for a long time; some of the drug charges carry a
maximum of life in prison.

US Attorney Carrie Christensen said no passengers or aircraft were ever in
jeopardy, still she said, "this case shows the potential risk."

Christensen points out that when Rosas took the package and put it in his
backpack, he was told it was drugs but he never checked it.

He could have been carrying anything through that employee door and into the
passenger concourse.

Related Video:

http://www.abc4.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=2668890

Related:

Airport Security and the DC Shuffle
http://www.californiaaviation.org/weblog/2007/04/airport-security-dc-shuffle


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