4 flight attendants arrested and accused of transporting millions of dollars in drugs to the Dominican Republic

Four flight attendants abused “their privileges as airline employees” and smuggled “millions of dollars in drug money” from New York to the Dominican Republic, announced federal authorities on Wednesday.

The suspects had access to the “Known Crew Member (KCM)” lane at John F. Kennedy International Airport, allowing them to pass through security quickly and without X-rays, authorities said.

“Indeed, given these relaxed security procedures, KCM privileges allow flight attendants to bypass airport security with large quantities of cash without the money being seized,” a statement said. complaint written by a Homeland Security Investigations special agent.

Charlie Hernandez, 42 years old; Sarah Valerio Pujols, 24 years old; Emmanuel Torres, 34 years old; and Jarol Fabio, 35, all face various charges related to “transferring money without authorization,” prosecutors said.

Hernandez lives in West New York, New Jersey, while the other three defendants reside in New York, officials said.

They are accused of smuggling about $8 million in “big cash” into the Dominican Republic, prosecutors said.

“As has been alleged, these flight attendants smuggled millions of dollars in drug money and law enforcement funds from the United States to the Dominican Republic for many years, misusing of their privileges as employees of the airline,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. A declaration.

An informant gave Hernandez $121,215 — funds “from drug trafficking” — and he then gave Pujols $61,215 of that money to take to the Dominican Republic in December 2019, according to the complaint.

Torres is accused of smuggling at least $1.5 million in drug money into the Dominican Republic between 2015 and 2022, the complaint states. Fabio allegedly concealed $1.5 million between 2015 and 2023, federal authorities said.

Delta Airlines confirmed that two of the defendants worked for the Atlanta-based carrier.

“Delta has fully cooperated with law enforcement in this investigation and will continue to do so,” the airline said in a statement.

The four were arrested Tuesday, a Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson said.

A lawyer for Pujols said his client was no longer in custody but declined further comment.

An attorney for Fabio could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. No attorney was immediately listed in court records for Hernandez and Torres.