EGLIN AFB — A 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) soldier has been arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle nearly 90 pounds of cocaine from Colombia into the United States, according to an NBC News report. The report, sourced to two unidentified U.S. defense officials, says Master Sgt. Daniel Gould was arrested Monday after U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents "found 40 kilograms of cocaine in two military backpacks on a military airplane in Colombia." Contacted Saturday, Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt, director of public affairs at U.S. Army Special Operations Command, said Colombian authorities were alerted to the presence of the cocaine by an unidentified Special Operations Command soldier. But according to Bockholt, the cocaine never actually made it onto the aircraft. The NBC News report indicated the plane departing from Colombia was headed for Eglin Air Force Base, and that Gould had returned to the United States before the cocaine was discovered. It was not clear how the cocaine was tied specifically to Gould, and Bockholt would not comment on that aspect of the NBC News report. No information on the incident was available from the Drug Enforcement Administration on Saturday afternoon. The NBC News report said Gould is assigned to the 7th Group. Maj. Kimbia Rey, public affairs officer at the 7th Group headquarters near Crestview, and Col. Patrick Colloton, commander of the 7th Group, referred additional questions to Army Special Operations Command. Bockholt's official comments on the incident, which did not mention Gould by name, were contained in a two-sentence response to an inquiry from the Northwest Florida Daily News, the same statement provided to NBC News. "We are aware of recent allegations concerning a U.S. soldier assigned under U.S. Army Special Operations Command for reportedly attempting to smuggle narcotics from Colombia into the U.S.," Bockholt said in the statement. "We are cooperating fully with law enforcement officials concerning this matter. In order to protect the integrity of the investigation and the rights of the individual, there is no additional information available for release at this time." According to a 2010 Army news release, Gould was awarded a Silver Star, the nation's third-highest military honor, for actions during the 7th Group's 2007-08 deployment to Afghanistan. The 7th Group moved from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Eglin in 2011.<doc-sep>A decorated United States Special Forces soldier has been arrested and charged with drug trafficking after he tried to smuggle cocaine from Colombia in a military aircraft, according to NBC News. The US television network reported on Saturday that it talked to two defense officials who confirmed that Army Master Sgt. Daniel Gould, assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group, was arrested after 40 kilograms of the illicit drug were found on a plane bound for the US. The two packages were discovered by a service member who reported the alleged attempt to smuggle the cocaine to counter-narcotics agency DEA which proceeded to arrest Gould, NBC reported. According to the television network, an unidentified ally of Gould loaded the drugs hidden in two “punch out” bags onto the military aircraft after the military official had already left for the US after a vacation in Cali, Colombia’s third largest city. “We are aware of recent allegations concerning a US soldier assigned under US Army Special Operations Command for reportedly attempting to smuggle narcotics from Colombia into the US,” spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bockholt wrote NBC. According to the spokesman, the Special Operations Command is “cooperating fully with law enforcement officials concerning this matter.” The official declined to make further comments “in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and the rights of the individual.” Colombian drug traffickers commonly try to bribe officials in order to weaken decades-long attempts to curb the trafficking of cocaine from Colombia to consumption markets across the globe. Multiple Colombian airport and seaport officials have been arrested this year on charges they were paid to allow drugs being loaded onto ships and private aircraft.<doc-sep>
WASHINGTON — A decorated Special Forces soldier was arrested Monday for attempting to smuggle nearly 90 pounds of cocaine from Colombia into the U.S. on a military airplane, according to two defense officials. Army Master Sgt. Daniel Gould, assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group, was arrested after Drug Enforcement Administration agents found 40 kilograms of cocaine in two backpacks on a military airplane in Colombia. A U.S. military official said a service member found the drugs on the plane while it was on the ground in Colombia and reported the discovery. The plane was bound for Eglin Air Force Base, near Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Gould was on vacation in Cali, Colombia, the week before the bust but had already traveled back to the U.S. when the drugs were loaded onto the aircraft. Officials said Gould used a proxy to move the two military-issue "punch out" bags onto the plane, but could not say whether that person was complicit or not. A spokesperson for Army Special Operations Command would not comment on specific details. Gould did not immediately respond to a voicemail. "We are aware of recent allegations concerning a U.S. soldier assigned under U.S. Army Special Operations Command for reportedly attempting to smuggle narcotics from Colombia into the U.S.," Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt, the spokesman, wrote in response to questions about the case. "We are cooperating fully with law enforcement officials concerning this matter. In order to protect the integrity of the investigation and the rights of the individual, there is no additional information available for release at this time."