Crime

DEA Agents Seize 25 Bricks of Cocaine, Two Firearms During Massive Drug Bust at Havensight Mall; Five Men Arrested

United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today that charges have been filed against five men for conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. Matthew Hazel, Jose Solano, Andrew Wilson, Cesar Thomas, and Lodwin Aahton were arrested Thursday and made their initial appearances in federal court Friday. A person with knowledge of the matter told the Consortium late Thursday that federal agents led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted an operation in the Havensight Shopping Mall in the vicinity of the Tap & Still restaurant resulting in the arrest of multiple individuals and confiscation of multiple bricks of cocaine. According to court documents, on October 13, 2021, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Confidential Source (CS) met with Jose Solano to discuss the purchase of twenty-five (25) kilograms of cocaine in St. Thomas. During the meeting, Solano agreed to sell the CS twenty-five kilograms of cocaine for $312,000. Cesar Thomas wa...