Crime

Puerto Rican Man Pleads Guilty After Being Caught on Vessel Attempting to Smuggle $3.7 Million Into St. Thomas

U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced Wednesday that Jerry Kirkland-Marrero, 30, from Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to conceal more than $100,000 on board a vessel outfitted for smuggling. According to court documents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (CBP AMO) was patrolling the waters near Brewers Bay, St. Thomas on April 21, 2020 when at about 8:40 p.m., interdiction agents spotted a vessel entering the area without its lights illuminated. As CBO AMO initiated a stop of the vessel, agents observed occupants of the vessel throwing duffle bags overboard. Once on board, the agents identified the vessel’s three occupants, including Kirkland-Marrero. The agents recovered three duffle bags from the water, as well as a fourth bag that one of the occupants had been in the process of trying to throw overboard when the agents boarded the vessel. Each of the duffle bags contained vacuum sealed bundles of U.S. currency, with a combine...