JURY CONVICTS FORMER DRUG FELON OF COCAINE CONSPIRACY

St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that a federal jury
took less than two hours to returned guilty verdicts against Russell Robinson, 57, of St. Thomas, on
conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute
cocaine. Chief District Judge Robert A. Molloy scheduled Robinson’s sentencing for July 3, 2024.
In 2007, Robinson was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine,
conspiracy to import cocaine, and money laundering and was sentenced to serve 160 months of
incarceration.

According to evidence introduced at trial, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine
Operations detected a vessel heading towards Vessup Beach in St. Thomas operating without lights.
After arriving at Vessup Beach, aviation agents observed several individuals offloading duffle bags
from the vessel to Robinson, Trevor Stephen and an individual who Stephen identified in his trial as
Ikim Blackett loading the duffle bags into Robinson’s Toyota Tundra truck. The aviation agents
provided updates on Robinson’s location to agents on the ground as he traveled from Vessup Beach
to Charlotte Amalie. Agents attempted to stop Robinson near the waterfront, but he fled at a high
rate of speed towards Hull Bay and headed up a one-way road into a small residential area. While
agents set up a perimeter at the entrance of the one-way road, the aviation agents continued their
surveillance of Robinson’s truck and later observed him and Stephen as they threw the duffle bags
from the truck into the bushes. Robinson then drove to the entrance of the one-way road and agents
stopped his truck and arrested Robinson and Stephen. Agents then retrieved seven duffle bags from
the bushes. The duffle bags contained a total of 210 kilograms of a substance that tested positive for
cocaine. In June 2023, a federal jury convicted Stephen of possession with intent to distribute
cocaine. His sentencing is currently scheduled for March 27, 2024. For his conviction, Robinson
faces a mandatory minimum sentenced of 15 years and up to life imprisonment.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs
and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, with assistance from Homeland Security
Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle Payne and Natasha Baker prosecuted the
case. This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF)
investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money
launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using
a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal,
state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.