Chesterfield Facing 10 Years In Federal Jail; $10 Million Fine For Possession Of Over 21 Kilos Of Cocaine With Intent To Distribute

ST. THOMAS — Neal A. Chesterfield, 37, of St. Thomas, was arrested Saturday and charged with possession of approximately 21½ kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced. A federal source had confirmed to The Consortium the incident, but the information concerning the amount of cocaine that Mr. Chesterfield carried with him was off.

According to the U.S. D.O.J., through a press release issued late Monday, at his initial appearance and detention hearing today in District Court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller remanded Mr. Chesterfield to the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending trial.

According to the complaint and affidavit filed with the court, on Saturday at the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in Chesterfield’s carry-on luggage while he was waiting in the Spirit Airlines gate area. Mr. Chesterfield, who is a security officer for Governor Kenneth Mapp, used his law enforcement credentials to bypass TSA screening, and was about to board Spirit flight 212 to Fort Lauderdale. Upon inspection of Mr. Chesterfield’s luggage, CBP officers discovered 18 plasticwrapped packages, the contents of which tested positive for the presence of cocaine, weighing 21.44 kilograms. CBP officers also discovered $26,025.00 in U.S. Currency inside a small computer bag in Chesterfield’s possession.

If convicted, Mr. Chesterfield faces a minimum sentence of not less than 10 years in prison, and a fine of up to $10 million. This case is being investigated by law enforcement officials from CBP, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Delia Smith.