St. Thomas Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling 23 Kilograms of Cocaine with the Intent to Distribute through the Cyril E. King Airport

St. Thomas, USVI – Shahime Ludvig, Jr., 20, of St. Thomas pleaded guilty 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. Sentencing is set for March 14, 2019.

According to court documents, Ludvig attempted to smuggle twenty-three kilograms of cocaine through the Cyril E. King Airport to Atlanta, Georgia on Delta Flight #307. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agents at the airport discovered that Ludvig’s checked suitcase contained white brick-like objects that field tested positive for cocaine and weighed approximately twenty-three kilograms.

Ludvig faces a term of imprisonment of not less than ten years and not more than life and a fine of $10,000,000.00.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte.