St. Croix, USVI - District Court Judge Anne E. Thompson, on May 6, 2019, sentenced Jean Cruz-Albert, 28, of Puerto Rico, to a mandatory 10 years in prison for attempted possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced. Judge Thompson also sentenced Cruz-Albert to four years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a fine of $500.00 and a special assessment of $100.00.
Cruz-Albert pled guilty to the attempted possession of cocaine on Feb. 26, 2017. Court records reveal that between November 9, 2015 and Nov. 12, 2015, Cruz-Albert and others in a multi-drug trafficking organization made three boat trips from St. Croix in attempt to effect a mid-sea retrieval of cocaine. They conspired to bring drugs to St. Croix and transfer the drugs to Puerto Rico.
On December 13th and 14th of 2014, Cruz-Albert and others successfully effected the mid-sea retrieval of 30 kilograms of cocaine. On or about May 14, 2015, Cruz-Albert and others made another attempt to effect the mid-sea retrieval of drugs by boat. Finally, on Nov. 13, 2015, members of the conspiracy successfully completed another mid-sea retrieval of the cocaine and were subsequently apprehended at Knight’s Bay in St. Croix. Law enforcement agents seized 87 kilograms of cocaine and the conspirators were apprehended.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alphonso Andrews, Jr.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
