ST. THOMAS — After reportedly getting caught with over 30 pounds of marijuana in his luggage, an inbound passenger at the Cyril E. King airport is now facing federal charges.
According to court documents, St. Croix resident Dillon Percival landed last Friday on a Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta, Georgia. Customs and Border Protection officials flagged two suitcases tagged with his name as having “anomalies.” Once Percival had collected the suspicious luggage from baggage claim, the officers approached and escorted him to a secondary screening area.
He initially told them that he was bringing the suitcases for a friend. Once the officers opened up the luggage, they found several vacuum-sealed packages wrapped up in bed linens and clothing. The contents of the 32 sealed bags were tested, returning a positive result for marijuana. Officers seized a total of 15.82 kilograms of the substance from Percival's two pieces of luggage.
According to authorities, he told them that he had traveled to the mainland to visit relatives. Before he left, a friend had asked him to bring some bags from Atlanta to St. Thomas on his way back to the territory. Percival said that he was promised $6,000 for his troubles. The bags, he told officers, were delivered to his Atlanta hotel the night before the flight by a man with whom he did not speak.
Percival reportedly said he had been instructed not to open the suitcases, but admitted that he suspected he was transporting a controlled substance. He was duly arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
After making his first appearance before U.S. Magistrate Alan Teague on Monday, Percival was released from pre-trial detention on an unsecured $25,000 bond pending future court dates.
His arrest comes days after a trio of passengers who arrived on the same flight were arrested under similar circumstances.
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