US: Former LAX baggage handlers busted in cocaine smuggling case

On the same day a JetBlue Airways flight attendant was due to appear in court on charges she tried to carry 70 pounds of cocaine onto a plane at LAX, two former baggage handlers at the airport were arrested Monday for allegedly smuggling cocaine past security as part of a nationwide drug ring. Adrian Ponce, 27, and Alberto Preciado Gutierrez, 26, were expected to make initial court appearances Tuesday in downtown LA. According to federal authorities, the pair were involved “in a nationwide conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine.” Ponce and Gutierrez allegedly used airport credentials to smuggle cocaine past security and pass it along to third-party couriers who took the drugs aboard commercial flights to deliver to customers on the East Coast. Both men face 10 years to life in prison if convicted of drug trafficking, prosecutors said.<br/>