Word: deas
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...huge "Operation Florida," unveiled last January by the Reagan Administration, has attacked smuggling rings operating along the South Florida coast with a small army of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI and U.S. Customs agents, backed by E-3A Sentry planes and Army Cobra helicopter gunships. While the traditional routes through the Florida Keys and Miami have not been totally abandoned by smugglers, the operation has clearly thrown a scare into the drug underworld. Last week President Reagan vividly reaffirmed White House support for the campaign with a cheerleading visit to South Florida. He reviewed an impressive array of confiscated drugs...
...spread northeast of San Diego. Hoffman and several other men were arrested last year and charged with conspiring to import cocaine. A Government informant had been part of that group. Hoffman, married and a father, confessed and agreed to become an informant in return for probation. His main handler: DEA Agent John Valestra. The Government claims De Lorean approached Hoffman last July, seeking quick cash from a drug deal. It was finally Agent Valestra who, posing as a drug financier, helped set up the arrest of De Lorean...
...Angeles office of the DEA had picked up tips as long ago as March 1980 that Hetrick might have been flying coke from Colombia to a landing strip near Biloxi, Miss. Not until last May, however, did agents get more tangible reports that Hetrick was planning to use his Mojave hangar as a place to off-load coke and marijuana from incoming aircraft. He had even boasted about a Colombian coke connection, federal agents learned. They were also told that Hetrick was looking for a U.S. bank to convert his illegal profits into a legitimate savings account more easily...
...then told De Lorean that a "Mr. Vicenza," a drug distributor the C.I. knew, would be willing to put up about $3 million to complete the purchase of 220 lbs. of cocaine for roughly $5 million. Vicenza, actually DEA Agent John Valestra, would handle the distribution of the coke, and De Lorean would be given most of the profits. The C.I. told De Lorean that once the cash was on hand, the actual financial transaction would be conducted by Benedict, the presumed bank officer...
...ubiquitous FBI cameras were waiting when Hetrick arrived at 4 p.m. Benedict assured Hetrick that the $1.8 million would be in the room shortly. Hetrick said he was "ready to go." It was not until 7:45 p.m., however, that yet another self-styled drug distributor, actually DEA Agent Gerald Scotti, arrived with Vicenza. Hetrick was wary, but in Scotti's briefcase, which was placed on a Plexiglas coffee table, was a vast amount of cash...