71.   Still, imprisoned traffickers are said to have beepers and mobile phones in their cells, and officials say they continue to oversee drug shipments on the outside.

72.   The boat was registered in Ecuador and was going to carry the drug shipment to Mexico and the United States, he said.

73.   The case has been embroiled in politics since the drug shipment was seized, with members of the rival political parties launching independent investigations.

74.   The authorities check the channel both for migrants and for drug shipments of South American cocaine to Puerto Rico.

75.   The case centers on a payment that Colombian prosecutors say Tafur made to a front company, E.I. Caribe, to arrange the drug shipment.

76.   The drug shipment was determined to be related to an ongoing investigation by federal authorities in Tampa, U.S. Attorney Donna Bucella said in a statement Friday.

77.   The Cali cartel has managed to smuggle several drug shipments into the southern part of this Caribbean nation, the statement said.

78.   The drug shipments were apparently part of investigations into drug gangs, but it is unclear if any arrests were ever made.

79.   The drug shipment was discovered at a border checkpoint Wednesday night, the ITAR-Tass news agency said.

80.   The drug shipment was found Friday at a freight warehouse and probably came from Colombia, a statement said.