CHRISTIANSTED – A Puerto Rico man who brought 191 pounds of cocaine to St. Croix by boat got a decade in prison from a federal judge on Monday.
Visiting U.S. District Court Judge Anne E. Thompson sentenced Jean Cruz-Albert, 28, of Puerto Rico, to the mandatory 10 years in prison for attempted possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said.
Judge Thompson also sentenced Cruz-Albert to four years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a fine of $500.00 and a special assessment of $100.00.
Cruz-Albert pled guilty to the attempted possession of cocaine on February 26, 2017. Court records reveal that between November 9, 2015 and November 12, 2015, Cruz-Albert and others in a multi-drug trafficking organization made three boat trips from St. Croix in attempt to effect a mid-sea retrieval of cocaine.
They conspired to bring drugs to St. Croix and transfer the drugs to Puerto Rico.
On December 13th and 14th of 2014, Cruz-Albert and others successfully effected the mid-sea retrieval of 30 kilograms of cocaine.
On or about May 14, 2015, Cruz-Albert and others made another attempt to effect the mid-sea retrieval of drugs by boat.
Finally, on November 13, 2015, members of the conspiracy successfully completed another mid-sea retrieval of the cocaine and were subsequently apprehended at Knight’s Bay in St. Croix.
Law enforcement agents seized 87 kilograms (191.802 pounds) of cocaine and the conspirators were apprehended.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alphonso Andrews, Jr.