Two packages seized in a drug trafficking case against the wife of the former commander of the U.S. anti-drug operation in Colombia contained heroin, not cocaine as first thought, according to court papers. Laurie Ann Hiett, wife of Col. James Hiett, made headlines in August by surrendering to federal authorities in Brooklyn on drug conspiracy charges. Dunst refused Tuesday to discuss the case. Prosecutors said at the time of Mrs. Hiett's arrest that if convicted on the cocaine charges, she faced up to 12 years in prison.
Charges involving heroin can carry a stiffer penalty.
Court papers show Mrs. Hiett has agreed to give up her right to a speedy prosecution, in part to allow both sides to pursue a possible plea bargain. At his request, he was transferred to Fort Monroe, Virginia, headquarters of the Training and Doctrine Command. Mrs. Hiett became a suspect in May when her name appeared on the return address on one of the two packages, which was seized after a routine search by U.S. Customs in Miami. The shoebox-size package had been shipped from the post office for U.S. citizens inside the U.S. Embassy in Bogota to a Queens address of Hernan Arcila. Undercover officers delivered the package to the home of Arcila, finding more drugs and documents naming Jorge Ayala, a civilian driver for U.S. military commanders in Colombia.