HASHISH SEIZURE LEADS GRAND JURY TO INDICT 7 IN WORLDWIDE DRUG RING.

Byline: Janet Gilmore Daily News Staff Writer

Nearly 25 tons of hashish have been seized as evidence against seven people indicted in Los Angeles on charges that they ran an international drug ring, authorities said Thursday.

The Los Angeles federal grand jury indictments targeted the alleged ring leaders, engaged in the shipment of some $250 million worth of hashish by sea to Los Angeles, New York, Australia and elsewhere.

Eight tons of hashish were seized in Australia, and the remaining 17.5 tons were confiscated in the United States in December. The 17.5 tons represent what federal agents said was the largest amount of hash ever taken in an undercover operation.

Nora Manella, U.S. attorney for the Central District, said the agents stopped a major, sophisticated cartel that had established ready markets worldwide.

``If successful, the conspiracy would have poured tons of illegal narcotics into at least three separate countries,'' Manella said.

Manella said the hashish originated from an unknown point in Southwest Asia before it was shipped through the South Pacific. In December, the drug ring transferred eight tons of the hashish to another vessel bound for Australia. That same day, the ring also handed over 17.5 tons of hashish to a ship operated by undercover DEA agents.

Following the ring's instructions, the agents shipped the drugs to suspects in the Los Angeles area, New York, Canada and elsewhere. Australian authorities arrested 18 people in December. And in late January, DEA officials arrested the seven people.

Authorities said the ring spent the past year planning drug deals via a series of phone calls, payoffs and face-to-face meetings in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Northern California, New York, Canada, Switzerland and Bali.

Among those arrested are David Kulik, 43, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Canada and arrested in Rosarito Beach, Mexico; Gary Matsuzaki, 43, a U.S. citizen who was arrested in Indio; and Vagn Bo Larsen, 44, a Dutch citizen who was arrested in Canada.

Other suspects include a man arrested in Nevada City, Calif.; an Australian arrested in Canada; a Canadian arrested in Vancouver; and an Arizona resident arrested in Orange County.