WC drug smuggling plot foiled

 SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) -- Colombia's top anti-drug official said Tuesday police have discovered a plot by drug traffickers in his country to use the 1998 World Cup soccer competition to smuggle drugs into Europe.
 Colombian cartels plan to take advantage of the large number of Colombians traveling to France for the soccer championship, Gen. Rosso Jose Serrano told a regional gathering of anti-drug officials.
 "The Cali cartel did the same thing in the World Cup in the United States" in 1994, Serrano said during a presentation at the 16th International Anti-Drug Conference, attended by representatives of 30 countries in the Americas.
 Colombian drug traffickers, including the Cali cartel, frequently use airline passengers known as "mules" to transport cocaine. The travelers often swallow plastic-wrapped packets of drugs or carry them in their clothing or luggage.
 Serrano said authorities learned of the plans and "we were able to stop several shipments on San Andres island" off Colombia's northern coast.