PHILIPSBURG--A 21-year-old woman from the Dominican Republic was sentenced to two years for the attempted smuggling of 13.8 kilos of cocaine on July 1.
The woman, who was residing in Spain, was arrested after the authorities in St. Maarten had received a so-called lead letter from the United States' Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in Curaçao in which they were informed of the attempted smuggling of drugs on board an Insel Air flight from Curaçao to Santo Domingo.
Luggage was checked during the flight's stopover in St. Maarten. The cocaine was found hidden between clothes in Rainely De Leon Mateo's suitcase.
The woman claimed she had had no knowledge of the drugs, stating she had been visiting her boyfriend in Curaçao and had been on her way back to the Dominican Republic to visit her sister. However, Prosecutor Karola van Nie was of the opinion there were sufficient indications to consider it proven that the women knew about the drugs.
The waitress by profession was in financial difficulties as her parents were out of work.
Her suitcase was much too heavy to just contain clothing and the defendant declined to provide the name of the man who had driven her to Hato airport in Curaçao because her parents had been threatened. She also feared that the life of her one-year-old cousin would be in danger.
The Prosecutor considered the case proven and stated that the amount of drugs seized represented a local market value of between US $10,000 and $12,000 per kilo.
The Prosecutor's Office asked the Court to sentence the defendant to four years.
The Judge considered the charges proven. He halved the punishment because the suspect was a foreigner and would have to spend time in jail without the support of her family.
De Leon Mateo was sentenced to 30-months, six of which were suspended, on two years' probation.
