St. Thomas Man Sentenced to Prison for Smuggling 23 Kilos of Cocaine Through the Cyril E. King Airport

St. Thomas, USVI – Shahime Ludvig, Jr., 22, of St. Thomas, was sentenced today on his conviction of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced.

District Court Judge Robert A. Molloy, sentenced Ludvig to 33 months incarceration, five years supervised release, and ordered him to forfeit $1,991 to the United States, and pay a $100 special assessment.

According to court records, on September 24, 2018, Ludvig appeared at the Cyril E. King Airport with approximately 23 kilos of cocaine in his luggage. He checked the luggage and proceeded to the departure lounge to board a Delta Airlines flight to Atlanta Georgia. During a routine screening, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) discovered the cocaine. CBP located Ludvig at the departure lounge and detained him. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrived at the airport and placed Ludvig under arrest. Ludvig ultimately pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle the cocaine.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Everard E. Potter.