Jamaican police officer, Shelian Cherine Allen, has been arrested for smuggling cocaine into the United States by hiding it in her body.
The 42-year-old suspect is being accused of flying from Montego Bay, Jamaica to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida on Feb. 3 with a cocaine package in her vagina and two additional packages in her bra, all of which were discovered during a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection.
The female officer also reportedly swallowed 90 pellets of packaged cocaine, which were found in her stomach, making a total of 1,350 grams of cocaine found on her as she arrived in the U.S.
The United States Department of Justice said in a statement: “CBP officers took Allen to a local hospital, where she expelled the 90 pellets.
“In total, Allen had approximately 1,350 grams of cocaine on or inside her body when she entered the United States: about 234 in her vagina, about 174 grams in her bra, and about 942 grams inside her stomach.”
At the time of her arrest, Allen was a law enforcement officer employed by the Jamaica Constabulary Force for the last 18 years.
The indictment charges Allen with two counts: importation of five hundred (500) grams or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute five hundred (500) grams or more of cocaine. If convicted, she faces up to 40 years in prison on each count.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony Salisbury, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Filed Office, and Vernon T. Foret, Director of Field Operation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
HSI Miami and CBP Miami investigated the case, while Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Shockley is prosecuting it.