As Ban's Spokesman Claims Cocaine Was "Not Intended" for UN, It Was Delivered; Past UN Mail Room Arrest

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 27 -- After Inner City Press yesterday morning exclusively published, and at noon asked, about 14 kilograms of cocaine brought into the UN's mail room, 24 hours later Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky argued that the bags were "never intended for the UN."

UN Security sources tell Inner City Press there is no way to know that. The courier, DHL, obviously has a policy or practice of bringing items with the UN logo on them into the UN, as happened here.

Why, these sources asked Inner City Press which in turn today asked Nesirky, were the bags spirited out of the UN before there was any chance to see who might come to try to collect them?

Nesirky argued that the Thursday evening press encounter by Gregory Starr of the UN Department of Safety and Security had answered all questions. Inner City Press asked Nesirky on Friday to confirm that under Starr, DSS disbanded its Special Investigations Unit.

When Inner City Press broke this story, it asked "what is ID/OIOS" -- the Investigations division of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, from which Ban Ki-moon removed his critic Inga Britt Ahlenius - "doing about drug trafficking in the UN?"

The OIOS investigative division ostensibly took over for the DSS Special Investigations Unit which Starr disbanded. Security source tell Inner City Press about a "covered up" probe by this DSS unit of drug trafficking using UN bags in Haiti, where the UN has a peacekeeping mission.

Inner City Press on Friday also asked Nesirky to confirm previous arrest(s) of UN personnel specifically in the UN mail room for being involved in drug smuggling. Nesirky said he would check. Video here, from Minute 8:46.

Well, here's one, from a publicly available indictment in US Federal court: 29-year UN employee Osman Osman was charged in 2006 with facilitating the import of 25 tons of illegal drugs using his position in the UN mail room.

Gregg Starr shows UN bags: DSS Special Investigations Unit not shown (c) MRLee

Given this history, current UN Security sources and now Inner City Press ask, why were the bags spirited out of the UN before there was any chance to see who might come to try to collect them? Who might have been protected? Watch this site.

After ICP Exclusive, UN Admits Suspicious Bags Found, Leaves Courier Questions Unanswered

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?

Update -- in the aftermath of Inner City Press' exclusive report Thursday morning and subsequent public question to the UN at its noon briefing, the NYPD has provided a statement that "because there was no addressee, the DHL just thought well that's the UN symbol so we should ship it on to UN headquarters and let them figure out who it was supposed to go to." A unattributed windfall? We'll see.