St. Thomas Woman Convicted in Cocaine Smuggling Ring

St. Thomas, USVI — A federal jury convicted 38-year-old Kanya Tirado of St. Thomas on February 1, 2017, on one count of cocaine conspiracy and two counts of possession of cocaine. The verdict marks a major blow to a tightly-woven drug network that exploited airport security to funnel multi-kilogram shipments of cocaine from the Virgin Islands to the U.S. mainland.

Tirado now faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a $10,000,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment. Judge Curtis Gomez ordered her remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service immediately, with sentencing scheduled for June 6, 2017. Her conviction stems from three smuggling runs between December 2015 and February 2016, during which she transported more than five kilograms of cocaine.

The operation, led by Nilda Morton, relied on insider access from Delta Airlines employees Taheeda George and Roniqua Hart. Using their security clearances at Cyril E. King Airport, the pair smuggled vacuum-sealed cocaine from their bodies into the carry-on bags of couriers—Tirado, Dellana Magner, Kinia Blyden, and Jerrisha Rawlins—in the Spirit Airlines lounge restroom just before boarding. Surveillance video captured the exchanges in precise, rehearsed movements.

Once the drugs reached the mainland, they were sold and the cash profits funneled back to St. Thomas. Nilda Morton orchestrated the return trips, relying on Rasheem Morton, Tirado, Dellana Magner, Te’Nae George, Kinia Blyden, Jerrisha Rawlins, Roniqua Hart, and Monique David to carry up to thousands in illicit proceeds. The scheme unraveled July 1, 2016, when Magner was arrested with 3 kilograms of cocaine aboard an American Airlines flight to Miami.

Twelve members of Morton’s trafficking ring have now pleaded guilty. Vanier Murraine, 34, of St. Thomas and Detroit; Christopher Butler, 30, and Drue Williams, III, 35, of Twinsburgh, Ohio; and St. Thomas residents Nilda Morton, 32, Taheeda George, 37, Roniqua Hart, 24, Dellana Magner, 23, Kinia Blyden, 23, and Jerrisha Rawlins, 23—all admitted to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Rasheem Morton, 36, Monique David, 40, and Te’Nae George, 23, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. All remain in U.S. Marshals custody pending June 1, 2017, sentencings.

The case was the product of a multi-city Federal Bureau of Investigation effort spanning Pittsburgh, New York, Cleveland, Detroit, and St. Thomas. Assistant United States Attorney Delia L. Smith led the prosecution, dismantling a network that turned airport checkpoints into trafficking pipelines. The investigation underscores the reach and adaptability of organized crime in U.S. territories.

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