A 30-year-old Michigan woman made her initial appearance Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller after being charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Virgin Islands Area Port Director Louis Harrigan announced.
Deangelia D. Quintana was detained pending preliminary and detention hearings set for Friday.
According to the complaint, Quintana arrived Wednesday at St. Thomas’s Cyril E. King Airport aboard a Delta flight from Atlanta. CBP officers approached Quintana as she removed two bags from the carousel at the baggage claim area.
Quintana was taken to a secondary inspection area where CBP officers searched her bags. According to the report, the officers discovered a large bundle of plastic in each bag. Within the plastic, CBP discovered approximately 23 kilos of what was field tested to be marijuana.
When questioned, Quintana admitted that the bags were hers, according to the report.
“CBP officers remain vigilant to detect and seize illegal contraband being illegally brought into our islands,” said Harrigan.
Under federal law, if convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, Quintana faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case is being investigated by CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Everard E. Potter.
