Lindbergh Field baggage handlers accused in drug smuggling scheme

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Four baggage handlers at San Diego International
Airport were indicted on charges they conspired to smuggle cocaine and
methamphetamine onto aircraft by exploiting their ability to pass unchecked
through security screening areas, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Monday.

The indictment alleges that Felix Samuel Garcia, Paulo Mendez Perez and
Saul Bojorquez, all current or former employees of Delta Global Services —
which provides ground services for several airlines — flashed badges numerous
times and walked through checkpoints with drugs in backpacks. Brian Alberto
Gonzalez, also a DGS employee, allegedly worked as a courier.

“This was a brazen scheme to smuggle drugs right under the noses of
airport security officials,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “We aren't going
to let dangerous drugs fly in unchecked bags in the overhead bins of commercial
aircraft.”

According to the indictment, the drug-toting baggage handlers connected
with drug couriers during clandestine meetings in airport restrooms in the
secured area of Terminal 2, where they would wait for adjoining stalls to
become available and once inside, would hand off the cocaine and
methamphetamine under the stalls' divider.

After the bathroom rendezvous, the couriers would board flights and
proceed to destinations such as New York City, Nashville, Detroit, Baltimore
and Hawaii, where they were met by other members of the drug trafficking
organization, according to the indictment.