CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A federal jury convicted a St. Thomas man of conspiracy to possess and sell the dangerous opioid fentanyl following an investigation into a woman’s overdose death.
Elijah Hakim of Charlotte Amalie was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl prosecution, U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith said.
It was the territory’s first-ever prosecution of an opioid conspiracy case, according to U.S. Attorney Smith.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin. Just two milligrams of
fentanyl, or the amount that could fit on the tip of a pencil, is considered a potentially lethal dose.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert A. Molloy schedule Hakim’s sentencing for February 24, 2023.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from April 20, 2021, to May
20, 2021, Hakim conspired to mail two packages containing fentanyl from Georgia to St. Thomas.
The first package was mailed on April 22, 2021, and contained 150 fentanyl pills weighing
approximately 17.5 grams which were concealed in a vitamin bottle.
The package was filled with spray foam and mailed from an Atlanta, Georgia-area post office to St. Thomas.
The second package was mailed on May 18, 2021, and contained 200 fentanyl pills weighing approximately 25 grams which were concealed inside a Gucci gift box.
Like the first package, the second package was filled with spray foam to further conceal the pills and mailed from an Atlanta, GA post office.
But each packages was seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in San Juan, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, USVI.
Court documents also revealed that during this period, a female victim on St. Thomas overdosed from consuming pills suspected to contain fentanyl.
At trial, the United States introduced fingerprints found on the May package which matched Hakim’s fingerprints.
Also admitted at trial was packaging material found in Hakim’s Atlanta apartment which consisted of a spray foam cannister, bubble wrap, vacuum sealed bags and fiber tape consistent with the packaging used to conceal the fentanyl in the April and May packages.
“Across the United States, opioids, primarily fentanyl, killed over 80,000 people in 2021
alone,” United States Attorney Delia Smith said. “Here in the Virgin Islands, we have thus far
been spared the worst of the opioid epidemic, but these two shipments of fentanyl show that we are
not immune. Fortunately, the vigilance and dedication of our law enforcement partners led to the
interception of these deadly drugs and we were able to convict those responsible. We will continue
to do everything in our power to keep the Virgin Islands safe from this lethal scourge.”
“The defendant’s lawless misuse of the U.S. Mail has finally come to a halt,” said Juan A.
Vargas, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Miami Division. “Postal Inspectors will continue to work
collaboratively with our law enforcement partners to combine our resources and expertise to combat
the perils of illegal and dangerous drug distribution.”
“Our extraordinary enforcement partnerships allow us to work in unison and combat drug
trafficking and the violence this brings,” said SAC Denise Foster from the DEA Caribbean Division.
“It’s the DEA’s mission to dismantle and destroy drug trafficking organizations no matter where
they originate. We will continue to work diligently with our Federal, state, and local counterparts
and to bring to justice those who seek to poison our communities.”
The investigation was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith Edwards and Kyle Payne prosecuted the case.
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