Thirty-six people were arrested on Wednesday in a crackdown on a drug trafficking ring that used Puerto Rico's main airport to smuggle large quantities of cocaine off the island aboard U.S.-bound passenger flights, authorities said.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said the 36 detainees, including 22 suspects rounded up at San Juan's International Airport, were among 45 people indicted for smuggling more than 61,000 pounds of cocaine out of the U.S. territory on commercial flights to the U.S. mainland since 1999.
"It's an important blow," said Laila Rico, a spokeswoman for the DEA's Caribbean Division, which is headquartered in Puerto Rico.
"The Puerto Rico airport is sought-after by drug dealers because it's basically a mid-point between South American countries and the United States and offers an easy entry point," Rico said.
She was referring to the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, the point from which the bulk of the drugs were flown to Miami and Orlando, in Florida, and Newark, New Jersey, aboard flights operated by American Airlines.
The DEA said in a statement that some suspects caught up in the drug bust were current or former American Airlines employees and airport personnel, who used a designated bathroom to hand over cocaine to couriers preparing to board U.S.-bound flights.
Cargo handlers on the payroll of the drug ring also worked to ensure that drug-laden suitcases were placed aboard U.S.-bound flights, the DEA said.
"The defendants in this investigation not only utilized their positions and security access to smuggle large quantities of illegal narcotics, but they also compromised the safety and security at one of the Caribbean's most vital airports," Pedro Janer, the special agent who runs the DEA's operations across the Caribbean, said in a statement.
Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth of about 4 million people, has long been known as a leading transshipment point for the smuggling of illicit drugs out of South America and into the United States.
Three of the suspects arrests on Wednesday were detained in the United States, according to Rico. She said two were nabbed at Miami International Airport and one at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Reuters' Kevin Gray in Miami contributed to this report.