Alleged cocaine trafficking ring busted at Pittsburgh airport

PITTSBURGH — An alleged cocaine trafficking ring was busted in a parking area at Pittsburgh International Airport, according to federal court documents.

The Pennsylvania State Police was tipped off to the operation in November, leading to the arrests of four men and one woman in a short-term parking garage at the airport in Moon Township.

Fourteen blocks of suspected cocaine worth $1.4 million were discovered, authorities said.

Authorities had watched the suspects for hours, following two suspicious vehicles from a hotel and a storage facility in Monroeville to the airport.

The five suspects were arrested while they were transferring luggage between the vehicles, officials said.

Investigators said the suspects, all of whom are facing federal charges, conspired to sell the drugs through western Pennsylvania from October up until the time of their arrests in November.

According to the FBI, the suspects are originally from Mexico. Two of them had been living in Arizona, and three were in the United States on visas.

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