U.S.: Drugs trafficked alongside Wal-Mart-bound food
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Prosecutors said Pittsburgh drug traffickers smuggled bricks of cocaine alongside food bound for Wal-Mart.
A grand jury indicted six men this week on charges they conspired to move large supplies of cocaine and heroin into the region from California and Arizona. Investigators tapped phones, found documents that outlined the suspects’ supply chain and seized more than $900,000.
They said they came across two of the men in Somerset County driving a tractor-trailer carrying about 42 pounds of cocaine and pallets of Wal-Mart-bound groceries.
Wal-Mart said the truck belonged to an outside carrier. The company said it destroyed all the food after the drug seizure because of contamination concerns.
Prosecutors said the suspected ring leader and three others face up to life in prison and a $10 million fine.