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Drug suspect claims link to Congolese president

A man arrested when authorities seized more than 2 tonnes of cocaine bound for Africa at a Venezuelan airport claims to be a diplomat and a relative of Congo's president, officials said on Wednesday.

But a spokesman for Congolese President Joseph Kabila said the suspect was not related.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Pedro Carreno told reporters the suspect presented diplomatic credentials and said he was a relative of Kabila when police arrested a gang loading drugs onto a private plane on Saturday at the international airport on Margarita Island.

The island is a popular tourist destination.

A Foreign Ministry official, who said he was not authorized to give his name, identified the suspect as Georges Musadi. Theodore Mogalo, a spokesman for Kabila, said the Congolese president had no relative by that name.

"This man named Georges Musadi is not a member of President Kabila's family. He's quite simply a criminal," Mogalo said.

Venezuela has asked Congo's government for information about the suspect but has yet to receive an official response, Carreno said. He did not identify the suspect.

Arrested along with suspect were six Venezuelan police officers, two Mexicans and two airport employees.

Carreno said authorities are pursuing two US suspects who are believed to have planned to pilot the aircraft to Sierra Leone, a common way station for Colombian cocaine bound for Europe.
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