A Puerto Rican man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for his role in a 2021 cocaine smuggling operation involving jet skis between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, acting U.S. Attorney Adam F. Sleeper announced.
Emanuel Rodriguez Rodriguez, 34, was sentenced Tuesday, July 7, to 121 months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 25 kilograms of cocaine, according to a statement.
The charges stem from a Dec. 11, 2021, operation in which Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations agents observed four jet skis traveling from Culebra, Puerto Rico, toward the west side of St. Thomas. Each ski was operated by a single person. Agents watched the group land at Mermaid’s Chair beach, where they were met by four individuals on shore. Duffle bags were loaded onto the jet skis, which then sped back toward Culebra, the statement said.
AMO law enforcement vessels pursued the skis. One rider ran his jet ski onto a beach in Culebra and fled on foot, leaving behind a duffle bag containing 26 packages of cocaine. The remaining three operators were apprehended, it said.
Meanwhile, DEA, CBP, and Homeland Security Investigations agents responded to the Botany Bay Preserve community, where a red Jeep Wrangler had been spotted parked above the beach during the handoff. Agents stopped the Jeep as it approached the community’s gated exit and detained Rodriguez Rodriguez along with five other individuals. A Glock pistol was seen in plain view behind the driver’s seat, and a second, unserialized Glock was found in the center console, it said.
