By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, January 26, updated -- After Inner City Press this morning published, and at noon asked, about cocaine found inside the UN, two hours later the UN has issued a "Note to Correspondents" seeking to minimize the UN's role while not answer the questions that were actually raised and asked.
Inner City Press asked, "what is ID/OIOS" -- the Investigations division of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, from which Ban removed his critic Inga Britt Ahlenius - "doing about drug trafficking in the UN?"
From a whistleblowering source, Inner City Press also posed this question from a whistleblowing source: "why didn't they let the pouch be picked up and see where it would lead?"
Rare for the Office of the Spokesperson for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, this follow up answer was provided:
Subject: Note to Correspondents on suspicious bags
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 2:14 PM
NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS FROM THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
Last week, two suspicious mail bags were intercepted by the Security and Safety Service at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The United Nations nor anyone located in the United Nations was the intended recipient of this delivery and the bags were not UN bags, diplomatic or other.
The relevant Host Country authorities - the Drug Enforcement Administration and the New York Police Department - were notified about the discovery of the suspicious bags and the material handed over to their custody. The U.S. Mission to the United Nations was also kept informed.
As the Host Country authorities are investigating, we would refer you to the DEA or NYPD for any further details.
At least at the top level, Inner City Press can report first hand that the US Mission to the UN was not informed or aware. Further reporting by Inner City Press including with the "Host Country authorities" to which Ban's spokesperson's office now refers the Press, reveals a story that continues to raise questions about the UN. Federal sources confirm they have "launched an investigation."
Some "private couriers" make deliveries to the UN, using a loading dock in the UN's third sub basement. The cocaine at issue, Inner City Press has learned, came in this way.
The argument is that there were two packages not addressed to the UN which got added to the delivery to the UN, and were found during the screening process inside the UN.
That $750,000 to $ million of cocaine showed up in the UN, with its unique legal character, by mistake is not immediately credible to some. But even accepting it, it raises the question of what are the practices, screening and otherwise, of the couriers the UN allows in?
