District Court Judge Raymond L. Finch on Monday sentenced Alejandro Marva-Romero to 41 months in prison for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, acting U.S. Attorney Joycelyn Hewlett announced.
Finch also sentenced Marva-Romero to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a special assessment of $100.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on Sept. 14, 2016, the 33-year-old Marva-Romero pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. On Nov. 13, 2015, Marva-Romero, of Venezuela, and other codefendants traveled from St. Croix by boat to retrieve a load of cocaine mid-sea from a supply vessel. They transported the drugs in suitcases back to St. Croix and offloaded them at Knight’s Bay beach.
Law enforcement tracked the boat as it returned to St. Croix and apprehended Marva-Romero and two codefendants on the beach in close proximity to the suitcases. The suitcases contained 87 kilograms of cocaine, or more than 190 pounds.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alphonso G. Andrews Jr.