Trial looms for Colombian drug barons

TWO leading members of the Colombian gang which helped make cocaine an affordable drug in Ireland are set to face trial later this year.

Brothers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez were among the four drug lords who formed the Cali Cartel, so called after the city from which they began their operations in the 1970s.

The gang was ultimately responsible for the beginning of mass importation of cocaine to Europe from the mid-1980s.

Journalist Ron Chepesiuk explained that Gilberto Rodriguez and associate Jorge Ochoa moved to Spain in 1984 to avoid pressure from Colombian and US authorities, having gained control of the cocaine market in New York.

But they were also investigating an opening in the European market, as street prices had dropped nearly two-thirds in the US while cocaine was selling for four times as much on this side of the Atlantic.

"It was a natural evolution, because drug dealers go where the market is. But because of the Cali cartel and its tremendous business acumen, the drug probably got around Europe quicker than it might have," says Mr Chepesiuk.

"In England they hooked up with a Liverpool criminal called Curtis Warren. Because of the close proximity, this would have played a major role in bringing cocaine to Ireland," he explained.

The cartel's international trafficking is just one aspect of its dealings covered in detail by Chepesiuk in his book Drug Lords - The Rise and Fall of the Cali Cartel.

The Rodriguez brothers, 65-year-old Gilberto and the younger Miguel, were extradited from Colombia to the US last December and March, respectively.

But while they face federal trial, two of their counterparts at the head of the drug syndicate never made it to face US justice. Official reports say Jose Santacruz was killed in a shootout with police in August 1996. But Mr Chepesiuk says he was killed by paramilitaries for a €2 million reward offered after the drug lord escaped from maximum security prison seven months earlier.

The fourth cartel leader Pacho Herrera was shot dead in a Colombian prison in a hit organised by a rival trafficker in 1998.

The indictment against the Rodriguez brothers includes charges of conspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and conspiracy to launder drug proceeds.

The charges are the result of a long-running investigation known as Operation Cornerstone, led by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, aided by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It has led to the seizure of 50,000kg of cocaine and €12.5m in cash.

The Miami indictment also seeks the forfeiture of €1.75 billion, representing money received in exchange for drugs and used to facilitate the distribution of drugs and the amount involved in the money laundering conspiracy.

The trial appeared to be facing delay this week because the US Department of Treasury does not allow the use of drugs money to pay for criminal defence.

The brothers have been trying to sell the house of Miguel's wife, and the pair also claim to be setting up a lucrative book contract.

They also face criminal charges in New York, where a forfeiture allegation of €827m also awaits them, if the case goes ahead after the conclusion of the Miami hearing.

Cocaine and the Celtic Tiger

ALTHOUGH the Cali Cartel has been dissolved by law enforcement agencies, the effects of their actions can still be seen today in the increasing problem of cocaine use around Ireland.

Once considered an elite drug only affordable by music and film stars, the saturation of the market from the early 1990s led to a huge drop in its street price.

It has become one of the main recreational drugs here since the disposable income of young Irish people rose significantly with the arrival of the Celtic Tiger in the last decade. A user can now buy a gramme of cocaine, enough for between five and 10 lines for a night, for between €30 and €40.

A recent UN report placed Ireland third out of 30 countries for cocaine use, based on 2003 figures reporting over 1% of adults had used the drug in the last year.

Garda seizures of the drug increased twenty-fold between 2001 and in 2003, when 107kg of the substance were found.

Experts estimate the volume of seizures represents just about one-tenth of the amount of a drug which is actually being used, suggesting more than 1,000kg of cocaine reaches the Irish market annually. Garda figures for 2003 show there were 566 cocaine seizures in that year, while criminal proceedings were taken against 607 people or 9% of all drugs cases.

But 362 cocaine offences took place in the Dublin metropolitan region, against 217 related to ecstasy - 14% of offences compared to 8.5%. In Cork city, 58 or 12% of the 467 drug offences for which proceedings were taken related to cocaine.

The dramatic growth in use of the drug can be seen by comparing 2003 figures to those of 1999, when 213 seizures yielded 85kg. Gardaí prosecuted 169 people.