Dominican Republic Man Who Mailed Narcotics from St. John Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Possession of 2 Kilograms of Cocaine with the Intent to Distribute

St. Thomas, USVI – Braulio Martinez, 33, of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced today in District Court before District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez, to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced. District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez sentenced Martinez to 46 months followed by four years supervised release.  Judge Gomez additionally ordered that Martinez pay a $100 special assessment.

According to court documents, on or about July 25th, 2017, Martinez is seen on video mailing a package from St. John, Virgin Islands, to the U.S. mainland. The package was inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and found to contain electronic equipment with two black plastic-like wrapped packages secreted inside the equipment. The packages were brick-like in shape and each contained a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine.  The packages were sent to the DEA laboratory for testing and confirmed to be approximately two kilograms of cocaine.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United States Postal Inspection Services (USPIS) and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte.