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3 Men Charged In LA-To-St. Louis Drug Flight Scheme

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An airline clerk and two other men have been charged with a scheme to ship drugs from Los Angeles to the St. Louis area aboard commercial airlines.

The U.S. attorney's office says Poe Purcell of Paramount, Chalamar Tuipelehake of Bellflower and Francis Frost of Compton were indicted last week for conspiracy and could face ten years to life in federal prison if convicted.

Purcell and Tuipelehake were arrested Wednesday morning in the Los Angeles area. Frost remains at large.

Purcell was an American Airlines cargo clerk at Los Angeles International Airport.

Prosecutors say earlier this year, he and Tuipelehake arranged for drug traffickers to fly suitcases filled with cocaine and methamphetamine aboard commercial jets to St. Louis, where Frost allegedly retrieved them.

It's unclear whether the men have obtained attorneys.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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