Augusto Rodriguez-Molina, 37, a resident of Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and Dominican Republic national, was sentenced by District Judge Wilma A. Lewis to 57 months incarceration and two years of supervised release following his conviction on conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced Friday.
According to court documents, on Jan. 9, 2022, Customs and Border Protection Air and
Marine Operations intercepted a suspicious vessel traveling northeast of St. Croix. The suspicious vessel was operating in international waters in an area known by law enforcement for drug trafficking and displayed no indicia of nationality, no flag, no registration documents. The vessel was, therefore, determined to be a vessel without nationality, thus subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Rodriguez-Molina, Shannon John, Sean John and Emmanuel Tolentino-Lebron, all of the British Virgin Islands, and 567 kilograms of cocaine were discovered onboard the vessel. All four men pleaded guilty to cocaine conspiracy and were sentenced to 57-70 months of incarceration.
