Skip to main content
Press Release

St. Croix Man Sentenced for Possessing 20 Pounds of Marijuana in His Luggage at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Virgin Islands

St. Croix, USVI – Dequan Forde, 22, of St. Croix, was sentenced on November 13, 2019, in District Court to one count of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced.

Chief Judge Wilma A. Lewis sentenced Forde to eight months incarceration with credit for time served, three years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.

According to court documents, on January 31, 2018, Forde traveled on American Airlines flight 2317 from Miami, Florida to St. Croix. Upon landing at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix, an x-ray examination of Forde’s luggage displayed unusual packaging. A physical examination of the luggage revealed a laundry bag that contained two vacuumedsealed bags containing suspected marijuana. The luggage was placed on the baggage carousel where Forde retrieved it. The total gross weight of the marijuana was approximately 9.40 kilograms, or approximately 20 pounds.

The case was investigated by the Virgin Islands Port Authority Police, Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations. The marijuana was analyzed by the DEA Southeast Laboratory in Miami. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston prosecuted the case.

Updated November 14, 2019

Topic
Drug Trafficking