A woman from Puerto Rico trafficked cocaine on a flight to CT. She faces 20 years in prison.
A Puerto Rico woman has pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine to Connecticut on a flight from Baltimore to Bradley International Airport, officials said.
Hecmarieliz Cruz-Acevedo, 24, of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, appeared in court in Bridgeport on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to sell, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Court records show that on May 9, 2021, Cruz-Acevedo boarded a flight at Baltimore-Washington International Airport headed for Bradley and checked a bag that had five rectangular-shaped objects in it that were “consistent with narcotics packages,” federal officials said.
Homeland Security investigators were told about the bag by inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture at San Juan International Airport. When the flight landed in Connecticut, a Connecticut State Police K-9 detected narcotics in the bag, and Cruz-Acevedo was stopped after she picked it up from baggage claim, according to federal officials.
Investigators searched the bag and found that each of the five parcels had more than one kilogram of cocaine placed in between pieces of clothing, federal officials said.
Cruz-Acevedo was arrested and this week pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, an offense that carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, according to federal officials.
She is released on a $100,000 bond and her sentencing has not yet been scheduled, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
