Five adults and one minor were arrested Wednesday after an operation conducted by the Special Operations Bureau saturated patrol targeted drug sellers and buyers, the V.I. Police Department said.
The arrests occurred between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the area of the former La Loma grocery, now renamed Hymi’s grocery in Estate Mon Bijou.
Police charged the following with possession of a controlled substance: Patricia Adelmann of Estate St. John, Adam D. Davidson of Estate Belvedere, Wayne Gookool of Estate Anna’s Hope and Solmaris Mohansingh of Estate Glynn. Tyrone Christiansen, from Estate Mon Bijou, was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
The minor’s name was not released.
Police said Christiansen was seen selling marijuana in the grocery store’s parking lot. When he was arrested, Christiansen has a large quantity of marijuana packaged for sale. Adelmann, Davidson, Gookool and Mohansingh we all arrested after purchasing marijuana from Christiansen.
Christiansen was held on a $10,000 bail and the others were held on $1,000 bail each.
St. Croix Police Chief Christopher Howell said it is important for the police to focus on both ends of the deal.
“Drug-related offenses come down to supply and demand and under V.I. law, both the supplier and the buyers are violating the law," Howell said. "We will continue to target high-traffic drug areas as new intelligence on other drug supply areas become known to us. It is well known, where there are drugs, there are guns. And gun violence has become the scourge of this community, and the police department will continue to aggressively address this issue.”