Ceestra Burgess, 23, of Irvington, New Jersey, was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics and possession with intent to distribute narcotics, United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced.
According to court documents, on Sept. 27, Burgess arrived on St. Croix on a
Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale. During an inspection of Spirit Airlines luggage, a
Customs and Border Protection canine alerted to the presence of narcotics in Burgess’ checked bag. The luggage was then placed on the baggage claim carousel and later removed by Burgess. A search of Burgess’ luggage revealed several vacuum-sealed packages wrapped in Christmas paper, which contained approximately 12 kilograms of marijuana. If convicted, Burgess faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
