Texas Woman Sentenced to Probation for Possessing Marijuana with Intent to Distribute at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport

St. Croix, USVI – Kieantia Thomas-Okeke, 39, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced on November 20, 2019, in District Court on count of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced.

Chief Judge Wilma A. Lewis sentenced Thomas-Okeke to a term of 4 years of probation with 100 hours of community service, a $1,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment. Additionally, the $39,980 in cash that was in her possession at the time of her arrest was ordered forfeited to the United States.

According to court documents, on March 5, 2018, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) canine alerted on Thomas-Okeke after she exited inbound American Airlines flight #2317 from Miami, Florida, at the Henry E. Rohlsen airport in St. Croix. Thomas-Okeke was then handcuffed and escorted to the designated secondary inspection room. There CBP officers searched Thomas-Okeke along with her carry-on suitcase. Inside the carry-on suitcase, a green leafy substance inside plastic wrapped brick shaped packages was discovered along with stacks of cash. The substance field-tested positive for marijuana. The marijuana weighed 9.11 kilograms and the confiscated currency totaled $39,980. Travel records for Thomas-Okeke showed that she was traveling from Dallas, TX, with a layover in Miami and had planned to return to Dallas, TX, the next day. When asked about her compensation for traveling to St. Croix with the drugs and cash, Thomas-Okeke advised that her flight to St. Croix was paid for and she was going to receive $1,500 when she returned to Dallas, TX.

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