The Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas, USVI. Photo Credit: ERNICE GILBERT, V.I. CONSORTIUM.
ST. THOMAS — A man is facing a federal charge after Customs and Border Protection officers found hundreds of rounds of ammunition in two checked suitcases that arrived in St. Thomas on an American Airlines flight from Miami.
According to court documents, CBP officers were conducting routine x-ray inspections Wednesday of checked luggage that had arrived on the flight when the scan indicated the possible presence of firearm ammunition inside two suitcases.
One suitcase was tagged with the name Kareem Casimir, while the other bore a luggage tag with the name of Mr. Casimir’s traveling companion. Both suitcases were associated with the same record locator. Officers placed the bags back on the conveyor belt for baggage claim.
After Mr. Casimir and his companion retrieved the suitcases from the baggage claim area, they were stopped and escorted to a secondary inspection area. CBP officers then opened and physically searched the bags.
Inside the suitcase assigned to Mr. Casimir, officers reportedly found approximately 150 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 100 rounds of .40 ammunition, and 50 rounds of .380 auto ammunition. The second bag reportedly contained approximately 200 rounds of .223 ammunition.
An American Airlines gate agent later confirmed to a Homeland Security Investigations agent that the passengers associated with the record locator had not declared ammunition with the airline before flying. The agent also noted that neither suitcase had the special sticker that would indicate ammunition was inside.
Under questioning, Mr. Casimir’s traveling companion reportedly told officers that Mr. Casimir had purchased the ammunition during their Florida vacation and intended to sell it after returning to the territory. She said the ammunition belonged to him and confirmed that it had not been declared either to the airline or to the Virgin Islands Police Department.
Mr. Casimir reportedly corroborated her account, took ownership of the ammunition, and disclosed that it had not been declared to the relevant authorities.
He was arrested and charged with transporting ammunition on a common or contract carrier without written notice.
Mr. Casimir appeared before U.S. Magistrate Alan Teague on Thursday and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
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