A V.I. Narcotics Strike Force officer from St. Croix was arrested earlier this week by federal agents in Florida after turning himself in on drug charges.
Achille Malik Tyson surrendered to federal authorities in Orlando, Florida after learning of an arrest warrant against him for conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine, according to U.S. Attorney David Atkinson.
The complaint against Tyson, which was sealed until his arrest Monday, alleges that between October 1999 and January 2000, the St. Croix-based strike force agent supplied a "confidential informant" with crack and powder cocaine and marijuana to sell for the officer. The duo then shared the proceeds.
Tyson appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge in Orlando on Monday and will be returned to the territory to face the pending charges.
V.I. Police Commissioner Franz Christian has oversight of the NSF, which has the primary responsibility for the detection, capture and preparation of evidence to prosecute violators of the controlled substances laws in the territory. Christian didn’t immediately return calls on Wednesday.
NSF officers’ duties include the collection of evidence through surveillance, undercover operations, gathering and analyzing of intelligence information and coordinating with pertinent local and federal law enforcement agencies.
Former Police Commissioner Ramon Davila in the Schneider administration tried unsuccessfully to disband the strike force because of corruption concerns. His effort was stymied primarily because of union opposition. During his tenure, Davila said that federal law enforcement agencies refused to work with the strike force because of those concerns.
Last September, the FBI raided strike force offices on St. Thomas and St. Croix as part of a grand jury investigation. They seized accounting records and computer files, among other items.
Meanwhile, on the charge of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute, Tyson, faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $2-million fine. Atkinson noted that the complaint against Tyson only sets forth criminal charges and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
