74.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsPolice & CourtsFederal Jury Convicts Woman in Cocaine Conspiracy

Federal Jury Convicts Woman in Cocaine Conspiracy

A federal jury convicted 38-year-old Kanya Tirado on Wednesday on one count of cocaine conspiracy and two counts of possession of cocaine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Tirado faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years of incarceration, a maximum fine of $10 million, and a special assessment of $100. Judge Curtis Gomez remanded Tirado into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending her June 6 sentence hearing.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Tirado was a member of drug organizations led by Nilda Morton. Morton supplied cocaine to Vanier Murraine utilizing Delta Airlines employees Taheeda George and Roniqua Hart, who used their security clearances at the Cyril E. King Airport to smuggle Morton’s cocaine to Tirado, Dellana Magner, Kinia Blyden, and Jerrisha Rawlins, after completing their pre-boarding security clearance but before boarding their commercial flights to the U.S. mainland.
On three occasions between December 2015 and February 2016, evidence showed, Tirado smuggled more than 5 kilograms of Morton’s cocaine to the U.S. mainland after receiving it from Hart and Taheeda George in the bathrooms at the Cyril E. King airport. Security surveillance at the airport captured the activities of the defendants as they entered the public restroom located in the Spirit Airlines lounge, where Hart and George removed vacuum-sealed packages of cocaine from their bodies and placed them in the couriers’ carryon bags before boarding their flights.
After the cocaine was sold stateside, Nilda Morton arranged for her brother Rasheem Morton, Tirado, Dellana Magner, Te’Nae George, Kinia Blyden, Jerrisha Rawlins, Roniqua Hart and Monique David to transport the cash back to St. Thomas where she took possession of the money, according to the evidence. The investigation culminated on July 1, 2016, with the arrest of Dellana Magner after she smuggled 3 kilograms of cocaine onboard an American Airlines flight destined for Miami.
Twelve members of Morton’s drug trafficking organization pleaded guilty to drug related charges. Vanier Murraine, 34, a native of St. Thomas and resident of Detroit; Christopher Butler, 30, and Drue Williams III, 35, of Twinsburgh, Ohio; Nilda Morton, 32, Taheeda George, 37, Roniqua Hart, 24, Dellana Magner, 23, Kinia Blyden, 23, and Jerrisha Rawlins, 23, of St. Thomas all pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
Rasheem Morton, 36, Monique David, 40, and Te’Nae George, 23, of St. Thomas, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. All defendants were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing on June 1.
The case is the result of a joint investigation by the FBI in Pittsburgh, New York, Cleveland, Detroit, and St. Thomas. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.