A pair of Delta Air Lines ramp agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York were arrested this month after, federal prosecutors allege, they smuggled ketamine that came in from Denmark.
The defendants, Leandro Alleyne and Fabian Inniss, were apprehended after they grabbed four suitcases from Flight 219, which had landed Sept. 18 from Copenhagen. The bags contained 133.8 pounds of ketamine, a hallucinogenic pain and depression drug worth $3 million on the street, Department of Homeland Security officials told the New York Post Saturday.
Mr. Alleyne, who was not supposed to be on ramp duty until later, and Mr. Inniss, who was assigned to the bag room, are accused of driving carts to the plane and offloading bags anyway, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Another Delta employee saw them move some bags to Mr. Alleyne’s vehicle.
Mr. Inniss waived his Miranda rights, according to the complaint, and told law enforcement that he took the four bags in question and gave them to Mr. Alleyne, that he did that with Mr. Alleyne multiple times before, that he knew the bags had drugs in them but not what kind, and that he was paid $4,000 to $5,000 per flight.
Despite that, both defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges of drug importation and drug smuggling and have each been released on a $50,000 bond.
Delta told the Post that it “has zero tolerance for unlawful conduct by anyone at any place in our global operation and will always work with law enforcement to that end.”
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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