CHRISTIANSTED – A 40-year-old St. Croix woman admitted in federal court that she tried to buy drugs in the local prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Kalomi Kambui — who used to work as a guard at the Golden Grove prison before the charges were brought — pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Golden Rock to attempted possession of a controlled substance, U.S. Attorney Ronald Sharpe said.

On June 12, 2013, Kambui, then a corrections officer at the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility, received what she believed to be ecstasy pills from an undercover agent, along with payment, for the purpose of delivering it to an inmate housed at the facility. Ecstasy is a street name for the controlled substance methamphetamine.

The substance was not ecstasy, however, and Kambui did not make the delivery but was arrested  Sharpe said.

Kambui faces up to five years’ imprisonment for the offense and a fine of up to $250,000. A sentencing date has been set for January 19, 2017.

She is one of five V.I. Corrections Bureau officers accused of smuggling contraband into Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility to be charged by the U.S. Department of Justice, following a multi-year investigation.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alphonso Andrews, Jr.

https://vifreepress.com/2016/03/9286/