Ethics Newsline®

MIAMI
Federal authorities arrested 58 people in Miami last week, including 43 employees of American Airlines and Lufthansa’s Sky Chefs catering service, for allegedly smuggling drugs, guns, and grenades into the United States.

The arrests were the result of a two-year investigation, launched after an American Airlines pilot complained that his coffee tasted “weird.” Investigators discovered that the coffee containers had been partly filled with heroin, the Miami Herald reported.

Tandem sting operations — dubbed “Operation Ramp Rat” and “Operation Sky Chef” — snared 58 employees at Miami International Airport, the reputed hub for the smuggling operation.

The employees allegedly used their security passes to gain access and stash drugs and weapons throughout American planes — in overhead compartments, wall panels, bathrooms, food carts, cargo holds, and wheel bays, the New York Times reported.

Both American and Lufthansa officials announced their full cooperation with the investigation, and no executives, pilots, or flight attendants were implicated.

But authorities roundly criticized the companies’ security procedures, noting that workers often showed up on their days off, entered restricted areas unchallenged, and abused company privileges to hide contraband, according to the Herald.

U.S. Customs commissioner Raymond Kelly said that last week’s arrests should serve as a “wake-up call” to airlines to bolster their security and safety procedures, CNN reported.