Charlotte Men Charged In International Cocaine Smuggling Scheme

ATLANTA — Two Charlotte men are among eight people charged for their alleged roles in smuggling cocaine from Costa Rica into the U.S., concealed in cans of food.

Federal prosecutors said Anthony Rondel Blair of Atlanta organized groups of individuals to fly to Costa Rica from Atlanta. While in Costa Rica, another defendant, Jason Arias of Charlotte, N.C., met with some of the conspirators and provided each with approximately four kilograms of cocaine hidden inside sealed food cans and concealed within the travelers' checked luggage.

Once the Atlanta-based travelers returned to the United States, they delivered the cans to Blair who prepared the cocaine for distribution in the Atlanta area and elsewhere.

The network also had been operating in Charlotte and Boston, prosecutors said.

Law enforcement officials documented more than 90 separate trips for this group, and it is estimated that the conspiracy imported over 375 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S. using this smuggling technique.

Also indicted are Shondra Vernon, 30, of Atlanta; Michelle Rosa, 36, of Jonesboro, Georgia; Daniel Newton, 29, of Charlotte, N.C.; David Lomba Barros, 32, and Madison Renee Kelleher, 27, of Boston, Massachusetts; and Angelica Dominique Cuyugan Tuzon, 25, of Reston, Virginia.

Original story by Patch Editor Tim Darnell