CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Thomas air traveler pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle about 7.5 pounds of marijuana into the territory on a commercial flight from Atlanta, authorities said.
Kharim Moore pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Monday to possession with intent to distribute marijuana, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said.
According to court documents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers were conducting screenings of arriving passengers at the Cyril E. King Airport on November 4, 2020 when Moore disembarked a Delta Airlines flight from Georgia. He was selected for inspection and his carry-on backpack was searched.
Officers discovered nine vacuum sealed packages with a green leafy substance inside that weighed approximately 3.48 kilograms. The substance tested positive for marijuana.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and CBP investigated the case.
It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Payne.
The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local
law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Moore will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum term of up to five years imprisonment.