OAKLAND - The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged James Heyward Silcox III today with illegally importing controlled substances, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Tatum King, Coast Guard Investigative Service Special Agent in Charge Kelly Hoyle, and Customs and Border Protection Director of Field Operations Brian J. Humphrey.
According to the complaint, Silcox, 41, of Alameda, Calif., is alleged to have illegally imported Tramadol from Singapore and Germany. Tramadol is a Schedule IV controlled substance and narcotic.
The complaint describes three illegal shipments of Tramadol to Silcox from overseas. In July 2019, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the JFK International Air Mail Facility inspected a package from Singapore that contained approximately 865 grams of Tramadol. In August 2019, CBP officers at the San Francisco Air Mail Facility intercepted a package from Germany that contained 650 tablets containing Tramadol. On Sept. 13, 2019, CBP officers in the San Francisco Air Mail Facility intercepted a package from Singapore that contained 458 grams of Tramadol. All three packages were addressed to post office boxes held by Silcox.
The complaint alleges that law enforcement officers removed the Tramadol from the August package and delivered it with substitute material to Silcox’s post office box on Sept. 16, 2019. The same day, Silcox picked up the package.
Silcox, a U.S. Coast Guard Commander, was arrested Sept. 17, 2019, at Coast Guard Island, in Alameda. He made his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco this morning and was released on a personal recognizance bond. Silcox’s next scheduled appearance is at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 26, 2019, for identification of counsel and a preliminary hearing before the Honorable Kandis A. Westmore, U.S. Magistrate Judge.
A complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000, for each violation of 21 U.S.C. § 952(a). However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Griswold is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Elise Etter. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Homeland Security Investigations; the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area-Transnational Narcotics Team (HIDTA-TNT); the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General; and the Coast Guard Investigation Service. The prosecution is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) National Heroin Initiative to combat the opioid crisis.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
