District Court Senior Judge Raymond L. Finch, on January 31, 2017, sentenced Ramon Lacen-Santiago, 41, of Puerto Rico, to 10 months in prison for bulk cash smuggling, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.
Judge Finch ordered LacenSantiago to serve half of his sentence in prison and half in home confinement. He also sentenced Lacen-Santiago to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $2,000 fine and a special assessment of $100.
On March 25, 2012, agents of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force received information that a co-defendant of Lacen-Santiago would be travelling with large sums of money through St. Croix Airport. During a security check of Lacen-Santiago and his codefendant, a canine alerted on two bags belonging to them. The bag belonging to Lacen-Santiago contained $6,249. A search of his person revealed another $39,000 in his pockets. Lacen-Santiago told the agents he was travelling to St. Martin with the co-defendant. A search of his co-defendant uncovered $38,270 concealed on his person.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alphonso Andrews, Jr.
Tags: 41, puerto rico, Ramon Lacen-Santiago, us virgin islands