St. Croix, USVI - District Court Judge Raymond L. Finch, on February 7, 2017, sentenced Carmelo Cruz-Velez, 52, of Puerto Rico, to 46 months in prison for conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced. Judge Finch also sentenced Cruz-Velez to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a fine of $2,000 along with a special assessment of $100.
Before Oct. 21, 2014, Cruz-Velez and his co-conspirators agreed to import cocaine into St. Croix and deliver it to others. On Oct. 21, 2014, his co-conspirators retrieved a mid-sea shipment of 71 kilograms of cocaine and brought it to St. Croix. Afterward, Cruz-Velez, knowing of the plan, took possession of the cocaine and delivered it to another individual for transshipment to Puerto Rico.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alphonso Andrews, Jr.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
