Florida Woman Arrested for Cocaine Hidden in Shipment from St. Thomas

ST. THOMAS — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on December 15 seized nearly 16 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside a mattress in a shipment bound for Miami from St. Thomas, leading to the arrest of Jaya Eugene upon her arrival in Fort Lauderdale on January 2, 2023. The mattress and the drugs were in a crate of other items, and the crate was addressed to Eugene. According to court documents, on January 2, 2023, Eugene flew from Charlotte Amalie to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on a Spirit Airlines flight. Homeland Security Investigations met Ms. Eugene as she landed, and escorted her to a secure area for questioning. She reportedly told the HSI agents that she had shipped some bedroom furniture from St. Thomas to Miami, and that she had flown to St. Thomas from St. Croix to sign the documents with the shipping company. She thought the shipment would have contained between 30 to 80 pounds of marijuana. Eugene said that she was supposed to have contacted someone who would then p...