Feds Bust Drug Ring At JFK Airport

Airline workers were charged Tuesday with helping drug traffickers smuggle heroin and cocaine through John F. Kennedy International Airport, authorities said.

A total of 18 people were charged in the plot, including seven employees at Delta Air Lines and one employee at American Airlines.

Federal agents seized more than 46 kilograms of cocaine, 25 kilograms of heroin, and three kilograms of ecstasy in the bust, reports CBS News affiliate WCBS.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials, who conducted the operation, say the ring was led by Henry Polanco, who operated from the Washington Heights section of Manhattan and dealt with drug suppliers in the Dominican Republic, WCBS reports.

Airport workers in the Dominican Republic concealed the drugs in luggage bound for New York, prosecutors said.

At JFK corrupt airline employees supervised by Jorge Espinal, including Delta Airline employee Erik Erazo, diverted the contraband to a "safe" area before the luggage could be inspected by law enforcement, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Thereafter, Espinal and Erazo delivered the drugs to other members of the organization for distribution.

Ten of the defendants were charged with conspiracy to import a controlled substance, and if convicted, each faces life behind bars and a $4 million fine, adds WCBS.

The eight others are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and if convicted each faces 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The scheme was uncovered by U.S. customs agents, officials said.