A California man has pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute following his arrest at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of the Virgin Islands.
United States Attorney Adam F. Sleeper announced that Shaheel Singh entered a guilty plea on Jan. 15 before Magistrate Judge Emile A. Henderson III. A federal judge will determine Singh’s sentence after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to court documents, Customs and Border Protection officers were inspecting checked baggage from American Airlines Flight 2211 arriving from Miami on Sept. 20, 2025, when an X-ray image revealed contents consistent with narcotics smuggling. Officers identified the bag through its baggage tag and observed as Singh retrieved it from the carousel.
The officers escorted Singh to a secondary inspection area, where a physical search of the bag uncovered vacuum-sealed packages containing a green leafy substance. The substance tested positive for marijuana and weighed approximately 10.6 kilograms, court documents state.
