Reputed Drug Lord Held Without Bail
By Associated Press | August 26, 2008
A reputed drug lord who was extradited to America last week from Brazil has been ordered held without bail in New York after pleading not guilty in a large cocaine smuggling scheme.
Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia entered the plea yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn.
American prosecutors allege Mr. Ramirez Abadia — nicknamed "Lollypop" — was a leader of Colombia's notorious Norte del Valle cartel. They say the cartel shipped 500 tons of cocaine worth $10 billion into the United States between 1990 and 2003, and that Mr. Ramirez Abadia played key roles in the smuggling operation and in the killings of rivals.
He was captured last year in Brazil, where he was living in a luxurious home.
