Reputed Drug Lord Held Without Bail
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
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.
