FREDERIKSTED — A Florida woman was given no prison time by a federal judge for smuggling 15 pounds of marijuana into St. Croix.
Yvette Simeina, 41, of Orlando, was sentenced to two years of probation and a $1,000 fine for attempting to smuggle 6.6 kilograms of marijuana through the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said.
Simeina pled guilty on November 22, 2021 to possession with intent to distribute marijuana, a felony
offense.
According to court documents, on February 23, 2021, Simeina traveled from Miami, Florida and
arrived at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport. While conducting inspection of checked luggage, the CBP
detected certain anomalies in Simeina’s luggage. Upon further inspection, CBP found 6.6 kilograms
of marijuana hidden inside wooden boxes.
This case was investigated by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten
the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional
information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.