SAILORS TURNED SMUGGLERS

HOW THE NAVY BROKE UP A RING OF COURIERS THAT HELPED NIGERIAN GANGSTERS MOVE HEROIN INTO EUROPE

Night after night, Nigerian gangsters trolled the bars and fleshpots of Naples for reckless young Yanks. The bait: a weekend excursion to Turkey, all expenses paid, and a fat wad of walking-around cash. The job: carrying a backpack stuffed with heroin on the return flight from Istanbul to Rome.

For a few U.S. sailors, it may have been an offer too good to refuse. The Pentagon confirmed last week that 20 Navy enlisted men and women, one lieutenant commander and at least one U.S. civilian were involved in an international drug-trafficking operation directed by Nigerian organized-crime barons. Five sailors have been...

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