Two Transportation Security Administration officers at Palm Beach ... - Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Updated: 10:05 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011
Posted: 7:01 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011
Over the past year, two Transportation Security Administration officers helped drug traffickers move tens of thousands of oxycodone pills through Palm Beach International Airport, receiving money and gift cards in return, federal officials said Tuesday.
Christopher Allen, 45, of Palm Beach Gardens, and John Best, 30, of Port. St. Lucie, are among 20 charged in an alleged conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, a highly-addicitive prescription narcotic.
Sixteen had been arrested by Tuesday afternoon as part of a Drug Enforcment Administration investigation dubbed Operation Blue Coast, Connecticut's U.S. Attorney and other officials said during a press conference in Bridgeport, Conn. Others charged include a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper, his fiancee, a TSA officer working at the Westchester County Airport in New York, and a Westchester County Department of Public Safety officer.
"This investigation not only uncovered the trafficking of diverted pain medications but also exposed the alleged corrupt activities of two law enforcement officers and employees of the Transportation Security Administration," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steven Derr.
According to federal court documents and information released at the press conference, officials with the DEA Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force received a tip in April that someone was traveling from West Palm Beach to Stamford, Conn. to sell large amounts of oxycodone.
The group's leader was arrested at a hotel in Stamford, where he was found with 6,000 oxycodone pills, and soon became a cooperating witness, according to a federal affidavit. The man told officials that over the past year he "regularly purchased" oxycodone from suppliers in Florida and took them to Connecticut by plane or car.
The narcotic could be sold for more in Connecticut than what he paid for it in Florida, the document said.
Several times a week, carrying up to 8,000 pills each trip, the man would walk through PBIA, nodding to Allen or Best as they let him board planes while carrying the drugs, the affidavit said.
In dealings that began last December, the man would give Best gift cards or $500 to ensure he could walk through security without a problem.
In a recorded conversation between Best and the man in May, Best tells him, "If I'm in a lane and I see you I know I say automatically I'll come over and try and help you out," according to the affidavit.
When the man arrived at the airport that month, Best took his luggage containing thousands of pills, placed it on the scanner, and let it go through. He used the payments he received to pay off credit card bills and close on his house.
When Allen heard of this in May, he wanted in, the affidavit said.
Allen met the man at an unnamed restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens to make a deal. He also was paid $500 each time, the affidavit said.
The man and other cooperating witnesses also said they transported the pills to Connecticut by car with the help of Florida Highway Patrol trooper Justin Kolves and his fiancee Jessica Douglas, both 28. They also received cash and checks for their help, the affidavit said. On some occasions, Kolves traveled to Connecticut to protect the dealers while they sold the drugs, the affidavit said.
Those arrested were charged with conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone. If convicted, each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
14 Sep, 2011--
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