A police officer has been arrested for attempting to smuggle suitcases full of cocaine with a street value of more than $4 million through San Juan International Airport in Puerto Rico in a massive drug trafficking conspiracy that was busted by the FBI on Sunday.
Zachary Quiñones-Bon, a police officer with the Puerto Rico Police Bureau was one of three men arrested by feds during a sting operation that allegedly caught the men red-handed as they distributed the cocaine in bags that were intended to be taken on domestic flights to Florida.
In a criminal complaint that has been filed in federal court, Quiñones-Bon used his insider status as an airport cop to access the airport terminal with suitcases packed full of cocaine.
After bypassing the normal security checkpoints and getting inside the airport with 67kg of cocaine, Quiñones-Bon allegedly met up with the other two suspects and went to an airport bathroom, where they moved the contents to different bags.
The two other suspects then attempted to board a flight to Florida before federal agents leapt into action and dragged them into custody.
If the three men are found guilty of a drug trafficking conspiracy, then they face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Quiñones-Bon also faces a firearms charge because he was in possession of his police-issued gun when he smuggled the cocaine.
The investigation is part of the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force, which was formed to “identify, disrupt, and dismantle large-scale international drug trafficking and money laundering organizations”.
