Florida Woman Busted with 6 Kilos of Weed at St. Croix Airport

ST. CROIX, USVI – A Florida woman is facing serious time after admitting she tried to fly nearly seven kilograms of marijuana into St. Croix. Yvette Simeina, 40, of Orlando, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute the illicit substance, according to U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert.

The bust went down February 23, 2021, when Simeina arrived at St. Croix’s airport aboard American Airlines flight #382 from Miami. Customs and Border Protection officers weren’t buying her story, and flagged her luggage for a secondary inspection. An x-ray scan revealed something wasn’t right, prompting a physical search.

What officers found wasn’t souvenirs. Inside three wooden boxes, concealed within vacuum-sealed bags, was a hefty 6.63 kilograms of marijuana – a Schedule I controlled substance. Field tests quickly confirmed the leafy green material was the real deal. Simeina didn’t offer much of a fight, and the evidence was secured.

Now, Simeina is looking at a potential five-year federal prison sentence. The court has set a sentencing date for March 22, 2022, where she’ll learn her fate. This wasn’t a casual tourist trip; it was a calculated attempt to profit from illegal drug trafficking.

The investigation was a joint effort between Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Evan Rikhye is prosecuting the case, bringing the full weight of federal law down on Simeina. This case is far from isolated.

This operation is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, a multi-agency initiative aimed at dismantling major criminal organizations. OCDETF focuses on intelligence-driven, prosecutor-led investigations to disrupt the flow of drugs and illicit funds across the nation. More information on OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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