CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A British Virgin Islands man will remain in federal custody pending trial on charges related to a human smuggling operation, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Danny Dennevil, 34, of Road Town, Tortola was charged on September 26, 2024 with illegally bringing aliens to the United States and failure to heave to law enforcement, U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith said.
According to court documents, on September 25, 2024, at approximately 7 p.m., U.S. Customs
and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations and United States Coast Guard officers
intercepted a vessel crossing the international border from the BVI into United States territory.
The unlit vessel, operated by Dennevil, traveled from Tortola, BVI to Leinster Bay, St. John
where it offloaded two individuals on the beach.
Dennevil immediately departed Leinster Bay and headed back towards Tortola.
Officers were forced to disable Dennevil’s vessel after he refused to comply with orders to stop the vessel.
Thereafter, officers detained Dennevil and two Dominican Republic nationals who were found on the Leinster Bay trail.
Dennevil later admitted to the officers that he smuggled the two Dominican nationals from Tortola to St. John knowing that it was illegal for him to do so.
United States Magistrate Judge Allan Teague detained Dennevil and the two Dominican nationals following Tuesday’s detention hearing.
This case is being investigated by the United States Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (HSI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Payne.
United States Attorney Smith said that a criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.