LA Woman Busted with 6 Kilos of Weed in the Islands

ST. THOMAS, USVI – Okeyonna Njoku, 30, of Los Angeles, California, is facing federal time after admitting she intended to distribute nearly six kilograms of marijuana she tried to smuggle into the U.S. Virgin Islands. The guilty plea came on March 16, 2017, in federal court, according to Acting United States Attorney Joycelyn Hewlett.

The bust went down October 15, 2016, at the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) K-9 units, the ever-vigilant four-legged officers, flagged Njoku’s checked bag after she arrived on an American Airlines flight originating in Miami, Florida. It wasn’t a casual sniff – the dog zeroed in on narcotics.

CBP officers meticulously examined the bag’s contents, resealed it, and put it back on the carousel, playing the waiting game. Njoku, seemingly unaware she’d been flagged, retrieved the bag from baggage claim. That’s when officers moved in, seizing and field-testing the contents. The results weren’t a surprise: a hefty 5.9 kilograms of marijuana was crammed inside.

Njoku didn’t try to argue. She was immediately taken into custody by the United States Marshals Service and has been held since. The feds aren’t messing around with drug shipments to the islands. Sentencing is slated for July 20, 2017, giving her time to consider her choices.

If convicted, Njoku is looking at a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, a fine that could reach $250,000, and three years of supervised release after she gets out. That’s a steep price to pay for trying to turn a quick profit off of pot.

The investigation was spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, proving that no port of entry is safe for smugglers. Assistant United States Attorney Anna A. Vlasova is prosecuting the case, ensuring Njoku faces the full weight of the law.

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