A Virgin Islands man pleaded guilty to smuggling 88.67 grams of fentanyl into St. Croix by mail, enough to potentially kill every resident of the island, officials said Wednesday.
Mario Felix, 36, mailed a black book from Hollywood, Florida, hollowed out to conceal 800 tablets of fentanyl on Dec. 27, 2022, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Federal officers discovered the book Dec. 31 of that year and, using fingerprints and other evidence, tracked the parcel to Felix.
The total weight of fentanyl Felix smuggled came to 88.67 grams, or 88,670 milligrams. Just two milligrams of the incredibly powerful synthetic opioid can be lethal to adults, depending on body size and other factors, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The 44,335 doses were enough to potentially kill each of St. Croix’s roughly 41,000 year-round residents.
Attempted possession with intent to distribute fentanyl carries a mandatory minimum term of five years and a maximum term of 40 years of imprisonment, prosecutors said. It was not clear when Felix, who has many other arrests, might be sentenced.
In 2010, Felix pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, destruction of property, and firearms offenses.
In 2011, federal officers charged Felix with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, powder cocaine, and marijuana, as well as firearms charges.
In 2014, he pleaded guilty to possessing, distributing, or manufacturing a controlled substance in a deal with local prosecutors that dropped multiple firearm charges. In 2016, he pleaded no contest to tampering with a vehicle and destruction of property.
In 2020, he was charged federally with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition by a felon in a school zone.
Felix was also arrested for additional felonies in 2009, in 2011, and in 2012 but court records available online were incomplete and didn’t offer details.
