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But that wasn't the end of the investigation. What began
in October 2010 continued for more than a year following
Wade's arrest when HSI's Philadelphia Airport
Investigations Group working with an undercover agent
posing as an associate of the corrupt airline worker
received 421 grams of heroin from a target of the HSI
investigation. As part of the investigation, the heroin
was replaced with "sham" narcotics and placed in a
package that was sent to Bermuda concealed aboard a
commercial aircraft.
HSI special agents determined that Wade had received the
narcotics from unknown individuals who traveled to
Philadelphia from New York on behalf of their
conspirators in Bermuda. Wade received payment from his
counterparts at the airport in Bermuda, who would place
cash on the flight destined for Philadelphia. Once the
aircraft arrived in Philadelphia, Wade would take the
cash off in the same manner he smuggled the narcotics to
Bermuda.
On
June 1, 2011, HSI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the
Bermuda Police Service (BPS) successfully dismantled
this organization that was using Philadelphia
International Airport to smuggle narcotics. Working
around the clock, law enforcement officials identified
corrupt airport and airline employees in the U.S. and
Bermuda who utilized their positions to circumvent
airport security and federal inspection procedures.
The resulting investigation led to the arrests in
Bermuda of Lorenzo Lottimore, David Carroll and Lauren
Marshall, current and former L.H. Wade International
Airport employees. Another individual, Damian Hatherly,
was also arrested. All four were charged with
importation of narcotics. The drugs have a street value
in Bermuda of almost $1 million. Subsequently, $90,000
in suspected drug proceeds was seized from a bank
account utilized by Carroll.
On
Sept. 10, 2012, just before the trial was due to start,
Carroll pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import
controlled narcotics, specifically cannabis and heroin,
and agreed to forfeit $70,000 in Bermuda currency.
Additionally, authorities in Bermuda dropped prosecution
against Marshall.
On Sept. 25, 2012, a Bermuda Supreme Court jury
convicted Lottimore and Hatherly of one count each of
conspiracy to import controlled drugs. They both face a
minimum of 12 years in prison. |
