Okeyonna Njoku, 30, of Los Angeles, California pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to possession with intent to distribute marijuana, acting U.S. Attorney Joycelyn Hewlett announced.
According to the plea agreement, on Oct. 15 a U.S. Customs and Border Protection dog at the Cyril E. King Airport detected narcotics in a checked bag belonging to Njoku, who had arrived on an American Airlines flight from Miami. CPB officers examined the contents of the bag, resealed it, and placed it on the carousel for retrieval. Njoku retrieved the bag from the baggage claim area. CBP officers seized and field-tested a total of approximately 5.9 kilograms of marijuana from Njoku’s bags.
Njoku was remanded into the custody of the United States Marshals Service. Sentencing is scheduled for July 20. She faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of as much as $250,000, and three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna A. Vlasova.