A group of 12 TSA agents and airport workers have been indicted for a massive drug smuggling operation in Puerto Rico.
They are alleged to have smuggled 20 tons of cocaine through Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport continuously over an 18-year period.
U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez said suitcases carrying 8 to 15 kilograms of cocaine passed through the airport and up to five drugs mules were used on each flight.
The drug smuggling ring operated from 1998 until last year.
Six current and former TSA agents were involved, along with airport workers including a bagge handler and an airport security worker who sourced the cocaine.
"These individuals were involved in a conspiracy to traffic massive quantities of illegal narcotics to the continental United States," Rodríguez-Vélez said in a statement.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said investigations into the operation began after TSA officials alerted law enforcement.
The defendants could face 10 years to life in prison if convicted.
