Pubdate: Sat, 04 Dec 1999 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 1999 San Jose Mercury News Contact: 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190 Fax: (408) 271-3792 Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ THIRTY COLOMBIANS SOUGHT BY THE U.S. The United States has requested the extradition of 30 Colombian drug suspects arrested in a major sweep two months ago, the U.S. ambassador said Friday in Bogota, Colombia. Among those named in the petition is Fabio Ochoa, a former top leader of the notorious Medellin cocaine cartel. The requests were delivered as Colombia, the source country for 80 percent of the world's cocaine, is resuming extradition of its nationals after a nine-year hiatus. Colombian police, acting on a U.S. request, arrested Ochoa and 29 other men and women Oct. 13. The suspects are accused of belonging to an international mafia that smuggled 30 tons of cocaine a month into the United States through Mexico. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck