Locals granted $500K bail for $30.9M cocaine bust @ VG
Of the $500,000 bail amount they were both required to pay $100,000 in cash and the balance in signed sureties.
Meanwhile, the two Venezuelans also held were remanded to Her Majesty's Prison in Balsam Ghut.
309kg of cocaine worth $30.9M seized
Appearing before Magistrate Ayanna O. Baptiste- DaBreo at the Jonn's Hole Magistrates Court on Thursday October 31, 2019 were locals Nickel Simon, 25, of Lambert Estate, a certified boat captain by profession and Cryton Brown, 36, of North Sound Virgin Gorda and an accountant with the Government with over 17 years’ experience and Venezuelans Hover Morillo Ybarbia, 47, and Wilteredo Lopez Vargas, 40.
They were all charged for the importation of 309 kilograms of a controlled drug, cocaine.
The two Venezuelans were also charged for illegal entry to the Virgin Islands.
Simon, who is being represented by Attorney Patrick D. Thompson, pleaded not guilty while Brown through his lawyer Leroy Jones requested to have his plea deferred.
The court heard that local law enforcement authorities were alerted to a go-fast vessel docked alongside a fishing vessel North of St Croix, US Virgin Islands (USVI) on October 27, 2019, resulting in them deploying a team to the North Sound, Virgin Gorda, area. Contact was also made with the US Virgin Islands Coast Guard.
Sometime after, local authorities were alerted of a pursuit that had ensued and the US Coast Guard notified of sighting suspicious packages being dumped from the go-fast vessel. Three spots where the items were allegedly dumped were marked by GPS.
Subsequently, the joint task force retrieved 11 bales of what was suspected to be cocaine from the location marked by GPS.
The find amounted to 276 blocks of cocaine weighing 309kg and carrying a street value of $30.9M.
Dragnet
The VI and USVI authorities then led the vessel into a dragnet as both entities collaborated to limit the suspects’ exit options.
According to the prosecution led by O'Neil Simpson, the vessel failed to stop when signaled to and continued to a beach at North Sound, Virgin Gorda where persons were seen jumping off the vessel and running inland; however, officers of the RVIPF were positioned, which allowed them to immediately apprehend three men. A fourth person was later caught.
The four, who were allegedly apprehended wet and covered with sand, were taken to the grounded vessel on which a search was carried out but nothing illegal was found.
It was revealed that subsequent searches were done at the homes of the two locals. While nothing was found at Simon's home, a money counting machine, vacuum sealer and bags and other suspicious items were found at a Cane Garden Bay property associated to Brown. Brown's Virgin Gorda home was also searched.
Prior to this incident the four had no previous brushes with the law.
The prosecution did not object to bail.
The two locals were ordered to surrender their travel documents and report to the East End Police Station and the Virgin Gorda Police Stations between 6:00pm and 6:00am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
They were not placed on curfew and are to return to court on November 26, 2019.
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24 Responses to “Locals granted $500K bail for $30.9M cocaine bust @ VG”
Its only good for a short while.
Work three legit jobs if you have to.
machine to count - check
Vacuum sealer - check
Bags for vacuum sealer - check
Money to be sealed- ??????
That sounds correct to any of you?
Ayo mds quick to talk ayo @@#% but put yourself in their life position where times get hard and you have #$&%* bills to pay and children to feed,who *#$%@ vex Deaddd n Rotten ayo Dutty mds! Government POLICEE CUSTOMS ALL AYO CROOKED ##$%&* EATIN THE SAME DOPE TOO!!