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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 16, 2002
TAMPA -- Local federal prosecutors have filed court documents in an attempt to have a high-profile drug lord extradited from Colombia to the United States to stand trial on charges of smuggling tons of cocaine.
Pedro Rafael Navarrete, a Chilean citizen, was arrested in Medellin, Colombia, last month. He is wanted in several countries in connection with investigations that accuse him of being the mastermind behind a network that smuggled drugs into Central America, Europe and the United States.
Navarrete was indicted in Tampa two years ago along with several other men, some of whom have pleaded guilty or are helping federal agents with the investigation. After Navarrete was arrested, the federal prosecutors decided to seek his extradition.
An investigation has established that Navarrete regularly transported multi-ton quantities of cocaine into the United States from Colombia, according to court documents.
Navarrete received millions of dollars in transportation fees from the smuggling and laundered the proceeds through various foreign and domestic financial institutions, the documents state.
If convicted on all charges, he faces a possible life sentence.