April 22, 2001 – Three persons were in police custody on drug possession charges Sunday night after about six kilograms of cocaine was found aboard their 22-foot boat during the height of the day's Carnival watersports activities in the Charlotte Amalie harbor.
A public safety source confirmed that Planning and Natural Resources Department marine enforcement officers arrested a pregnant woman and two other persons after boarding the vessel around 3 p.m. Sunday. They said the officers, Montclair Guishard and Oliver Christian, intercepted the boat between Hassel Island and Frenchtown after it sped through a designated racing lane in the harbor but did not appear to be taking part in the boat races.
When the officers boarded the vessel, registered in Puerto Rico, to conduct a safety check, they found an open bag of cocaine in one of the compartments, the source said. They confiscated the drugs and took the three people aboard into custody. The identities of those arrested and bail information were not available Sunday night. Authorities estimated the street value of the confiscated cocaine at around $120,000.
Other law-enforcement sources said Sunday night that additional charges may be filed against the boat captain, as the immigration status of the pregnant woman, believed to be a national of the Dominican Republic, is in question. If she is found to be in the territory without proper documentation, the captain could face charges of illegal alien trafficking.
The three are to appear before a Territorial Court judge on Monday for an advice-of-rights hearing.
