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Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsPolice & CourtsMan Gets 46 Months in Cocaine Conspiracy

Man Gets 46 Months in Cocaine Conspiracy

District Court Judge Raymond L. Finch on Tuesday sentenced Carmelo Cruz-Velez, a 52-year-old Puerto Rican national, to 46 months in prison for conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.
Finch also sentenced Cruz-Velez to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a fine of $2,000 along with a special assessment of $100.
Before Oct. 21, 2014, Cruz-Velez and his coconspirators agreed to import cocaine into St. Croix and deliver it to others, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. On Oct. 21, 2014, his coconspirators retrieved a mid-sea shipment of 71 kilograms of cocaine and brought it to St. Croix. Afterward, Cruz-Velez, knowing of the plan, took possession of the cocaine and delivered it to another individual for transshipment to Puerto Rico.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alphonso Andrews Jr.

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