St. Thomas, USVI – Ngoc Nguyen, 22, and Fendi Brooks, 26, both from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were sentenced today for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced.

District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez sentenced Nguyen to 63 months imprisonment and Brooks to 77 months imprisonment. Judge Gomez also sentenced both Nguyen and Brooks to five years of supervised release and 300 hours of community service.

According to court documents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers at the Cyril E. King Airport discovered 12 brick-like bundles of what appeared to be a white powdery substance smuggled into a suitcase Brooks had checked in under her name but that both Brooks and Nguyen claimed to share. Subsequent lab testing revealed that eleven of those bundles contained cocaine powder (approximately 10.9 kilograms), while one of the packages contained a kilogram of cocaine base (crack) (approximately 1.01 kilograms). Both Brooks and Nguyen had $1,300 in $100 bills on their persons.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith J. Edwards.

St. Thomas, USVI – Ngoc Nguyen, 21, and Fendi Brooks, 25, both from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were arrested today on a complaint charging them with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute thirteen kilograms of cocaine and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert, announced. Nguyen and Brooks made their initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller and were detained pending further proceedings.

According to the complaint, Nguyen and Brooks were stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers at the Cyril E. King Airport after they discovered that Nguyen and Brooks were attempting to smuggle thirteen kilograms of cocaine through the airport to the U.S. mainland in their checked luggage. The white powdery substance discovered in the suitcase, field-tested positive for cocaine and weighed approximately thirteen kilograms.

If convicted of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, Nguyen and Brooks each face a term of imprisonment of not less than ten years and not more than life and a fine of $10,000,000.00 on each count.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte.