{"version":1,"id":"vi","name":"US Virgin Islands","url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/country/vi/","count":4,"totals":{"reports":4,"arrested":5,"plants_destroyed":10000,"hectares":0,"kg_seized":1694.62,"deaths":0},"by_type":{"eradication":1,"seizure":2,"raid":0,"arrest":1,"prosecution":0,"sentence":0,"execution":0,"death":0},"latest":"2025-04-29","reports":[{"id":"st-thomas-homegrown-hemp-seizure-2025","code":"CET-D64CS0","url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/report/st-thomas-homegrown-hemp-seizure-2025/","short_url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/r/D64CS0/","date":"2025-04-29","added_at":"2026-11-05T14:47:32.861577Z","added_at_source":"recorded","updated_at":"2026-11-10T06:28:33.000Z","country":"vi","country_name":"US Virgin Islands","place":"Little Amsterdam Coffee & Cannabis Lounge, 10 Dronningens Gade, Main Street, St. Thomas","coordinates":[18.3434,-64.9331],"precision":"locality","type":"seizure","also":["raid"],"title":"$18,000 hemp inventory seized in St. Thomas shop raid","summary":"Virgin Islands agents seized about $18,000 in hemp-derived products from Homegrown Bar and Grill's St. Thomas store on 29 April 2025, the retailer alleges. The licensed retailer says the warrantless seizure was uncompensated and is challenging it and the later Act 9072 surrender rule in federal court.","status":"verified","figures":{"value":{"amount":18000,"currency":"USD"}},"details":{"agency_types":["police"],"products":[{"product":"flower"}],"setting":["street"],"case_stage":"investigation","date_precision":"exact"},"data_sources":{"details.agency_types":[2],"details.case_stage":[2,1],"details.date_precision":[3,2],"details.products":[3,2,1],"details.setting":[2],"figures.value":[1]},"tags":["st-thomas","hemp","retail"],"cover":null,"media":[],"cfi_id":null,"created_by_model":"opencode-go/muse-spark-1.3-contributor#xhigh","open_questions":["No cannabis weight, plant count or product-by-product breakdown was published; only the complaint's approximately $18,000 wholesale value is recorded, so no kilograms can be recorded.","The submitted article gives only April 2025 for the raid; the exact date of 29 April 2025 comes from the complaint as reported in the second and third opened accounts.","All seizure details come from the business's complaint as reported; no government response or agency statement was included in the opened sources.","No arrests, charges or criminal proceedings were reported in the opened accounts.","No court outcome was reported in the opened sources used for this seizure report.","The additional at least $60,000 in inventory is described as stock still held and subject to future surrender under Act 9072, not seized, and is therefore excluded from the seizure value.","Only the complaint's wholesale valuation is recorded; retail value, laboratory results and testing status were not established in the opened sources.","Left out, as its quotation was not found in St. Thomas Source: The complaint also challenges a new provision requiring retailers to surrender products to the Health Department for storage until regulations issue, without provision for just compensation."],"sources":[{"title":"Hemp Retailer Alleges Illegal Raid, Seizure","url":"https://stthomassource.com/content/2026/02/20/hemp-retailer-alleges-illegal-raid-seizure/","publisher":"St. Thomas Source","date":"2026-02-20","archived":null},{"title":"Homegrown Bar & Grill Sues Government Over Hemp Seizure, Cites Fifth Amendment Violations","url":"https://viconsortium.com/vi-legal/virgin-islands-homegrown-bar---grill-sues-government-over-hemp-seizure--cites-fifth-amendment-violations","publisher":"Virgin Islands Consortium","date":"2026-02-20","archived":null},{"title":"Homegrown Bar & Grill sues Virgin Islands government over 2025 hemp seizure","url":"https://www.vibehigh.vi/news/homegrown-hemp-lawsuit/","publisher":"VIBE HIGH","date":"2026-02-19","archived":null}]},{"id":"tiburon-haiti-3736lb-marijuana-interdiction","code":"CET-W2A3QK","url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/report/tiburon-haiti-3736lb-marijuana-interdiction/","short_url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/r/W2A3QK/","date":"2024-04-30","added_at":"2026-11-05T21:24:27.583371Z","added_at_source":"recorded","updated_at":"2026-11-10T06:28:33.000Z","country":"vi","country_name":"US Virgin Islands","place":"Caribbean Sea, about 14 nautical miles off Tiburon, Haiti","coordinates":[18.326,-74.409],"precision":"locality","type":"seizure","also":["arrest","prosecution"],"title":"Four Jamaicans held after 3,736 lb marijuana seizure off Haiti","summary":"U.S. Coast Guard cutters Resolute and Mohawk intercepted a go-fast vessel about 14 nautical miles off Tiburon, Haiti, on 30 April 2024, apprehending four Jamaican men and seizing 3,736 pounds (about 1,694.62 kg) of marijuana valued by the Coast Guard at more than $3.5 million. A federal jury convicted Miguel Orr and Romaine Betty in January 2026, with sentencing scheduled for 22 May 2026.","status":"verified","figures":{"arrested":4,"charged":4,"kg_seized":1694.62,"value":{"amount":3500000,"currency":"USD"}},"details":{"agency_types":["coast-guard","prosecutor"],"products":[{"product":"flower"}],"activity":["smuggling"],"setting":["port"],"case_stage":"convicted","date_precision":"exact"},"data_sources":{"details.activity":[1,2,3],"details.agency_types":[1,2,3,4,5],"details.case_stage":[3,4,5],"details.date_precision":[2,3,4,5],"details.products":[2,5],"details.setting":[2,3,4,5],"figures.arrested":[1,2,3,4,5],"figures.charged":[1,2,3,4,5],"figures.kg_seized":[1,2,3],"figures.value":[1,2,3,4]},"tags":["tiburon-haiti","us-virgin-islands","marijuana","caribbean","coast-guard"],"cover":null,"media":[],"cfi_id":null,"created_by_model":"openai/gpt-6-luna#max","open_questions":["The Coast Guard release gives no exact interdiction date; court documents place the interception on or about 30 April 2024.","The Coast Guard reported a value of more than $3.5 million, without giving an exact amount.","The indictment describes approximately 3,700 pounds, while the Coast Guard and trial accounts give 3,736 pounds; this report uses the precise 3,736-pound figure.","The opened accounts schedule sentencing for Orr and Betty on 22 May 2026 but do not report whether it occurred or what sentences were imposed.","The opened articles do not report what happened to Rayvon Smith and Sherland Campbell after indictment."],"sources":[{"title":"U.S. Authorities Seize $3.5M In Marijuana During Caribbean Patrol","url":"https://stluciatimes.com/164149/2024/06/u-s-authorities-seize-3-5m-in-marijuana-during-caribbean-patrol/","publisher":"St. Lucia Times","date":"2024-06-10","archived":null},{"title":"US Coast Guard Cutter Resolute returns home from Caribbean patrol; interdicts four suspected smugglers, 3,736 pounds of illicit drugs","url":"https://www.dvidshub.net/news/473391/us-coast-guard-cutter-resolute-returns-home-caribbean-patrol-interdicts-four-suspected-smugglers-3736-pounds-illicit-drugs","publisher":"U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area (DVIDS)","date":"2024-06-08","archived":null},{"title":"FOUR JAMAICAN NATIONALS INDICTED IN MARIJUANA TRAFFICKING CONSPIRACY","url":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-vi/pr/four-jamaican-nationals-indicted-marijuana-trafficking-conspiracy","publisher":"U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Virgin Islands","date":"2024-08-12","archived":null},{"title":"Jamaican Nationals Convicted Of Maritime Drug Trafficking Offenses Following Federal Jury Trial","url":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-vi/pr/jamaican-nationals-convicted-maritime-drug-trafficking-offenses-following-federal-jury","publisher":"U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Virgin Islands","date":"2026-01-23","archived":null},{"title":"Jury Convicts Two Men in Maritime Drug Case After Coast Guard Seizes Nearly Two Tons of Marijuana","url":"https://viconsortium.com/vi-crime/virgin-islands-jury-convicts-two-men-in-maritime-drug-case-after-coast-guard-seizes-nearly-two-tons-of-marijuana","publisher":"The Virgin Islands Consortium","date":"2026-01-26","archived":null}]},{"id":"st-croix-golden-grove-sneakers-marijuana-arrest-2016","code":"CET-ZQMY4Y","url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/report/st-croix-golden-grove-sneakers-marijuana-arrest-2016/","short_url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/r/ZQMY4Y/","date":"2016-12-09","added_at":"2026-11-09T10:53:54.855307Z","added_at_source":"recorded","updated_at":null,"country":"vi","country_name":"US Virgin Islands","place":"Golden Grove Correctional Facility, St. Croix","coordinates":[17.7235,-64.7831],"precision":"locality","type":"arrest","also":["seizure"],"title":"Woman arrested over marijuana in sneaker soles at Golden Grove prison","summary":"A 28-year-old woman, Sherifa Petersen, was arrested and charged with introducing narcotics into the Golden Grove Correctional Facility on St. Croix after officers found two small bags of marijuana in the soles of a pair of sneakers she brought for an inmate. Police were sent to the prison at 1:38 p.m. on Friday, 9 December 2016.","status":"verified","figures":{"arrested":1,"charged":1},"details":{"agencies":["Virgin Islands Police Department","Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections"],"agency_types":["police","other"],"products":[{"product":"flower"}],"activity":["smuggling","possession"],"setting":["prison"],"charges":["introduction of narcotics into the prison"],"case_stage":"charged","force":["none-reported"],"date_precision":"exact","region":"St. Croix"},"data_sources":{"details.activity":[1],"details.agencies":[1],"details.agency_types":[1],"details.case_stage":[1],"details.charges":[1],"details.force":[1],"details.products":[1],"details.setting":[1],"figures.arrested":[1],"figures.charged":[1]},"tags":["st-croix","prison-smuggling","virgin-islands","sneakers"],"cover":null,"media":[],"cfi_id":null,"created_by_model":"swancloud/muse-spark-1.3-contributor#xhigh","open_questions":["No weight or count for the marijuana found in the sneakers was published.","The Virgin Islands Consortium also reported this arrest, but only that page's headline and byline could be read from its capture, so its text is not quoted here.","A Daily News account seen only as a search fragment mentions a Mon Bijou residence and release on $10,000 bail; it could not be opened, so those details are not used.","A Virgin Islands News Online item covers the same arrest but credits the Virgin Islands Consortium, so it is a reprint and is not cited separately.","The incident date is Friday 9 December 2016; the sources give no separate date for the charge being filed.","No court outcome or later stage of the case was reported in the opened sources.","The result check flagged the 2026 Guyana Mazaruni prison officer report as a possible match on the shared place name Golden Grove; it is a different country, year and case and was recorded as a distinct event."],"sources":[{"title":"Visitor Charged with Bringing Drugs into Golden Grove","url":"https://stcroixsource.com/2016/12/12/visitor-charged-with-bringing-drugs-into-golden-grove","publisher":"St. Croix Source","date":"2016-12-12","archived":null}]},{"id":"st-croix-dea-10000-plants-2008","code":"CET-Q34EJR","url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/report/st-croix-dea-10000-plants-2008/","short_url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/r/Q34EJR/","date":"2008-06-20","added_at":"2026-10-31T18:44:28.000Z","added_at_source":"git","updated_at":"2026-11-07T01:55:52.000Z","country":"vi","country_name":"US Virgin Islands","place":"St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands","coordinates":[17.7465,-64.703],"precision":"region","type":"eradication","also":[],"title":"DEA eradicates almost 10,000 marijuana plants across St. Croix","summary":"The DEA's Caribbean Division reported that Operation No Plant Left Behind eradicated almost 10,000 marijuana plants from 80 fields across St. Croix in a seven-day sweep ending on 20 June 2008, a record for the island.","status":"verified","figures":{"plants_destroyed":10000},"details":{"agencies":["us-dea"],"agency_types":["police"],"products":[{"product":"flower"},{"product":"plants","plants":10000}],"activity":["trafficking"],"setting":["prison"],"case_stage":"sentenced","date_precision":"exact"},"data_sources":{"details.activity":[1],"details.agencies":[1],"details.agency_types":[1],"details.case_stage":[1],"details.date_precision":[1],"details.products":[1],"details.setting":[1],"figures.plants_destroyed":[1]},"tags":["dea","st-croix","eradication"],"cover":null,"media":[{"kind":"photo","url":"https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/divisions/car/2008/carib062008p.html","media_url":"https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/divisions/car/2008/carib062008_fig1.jpg","publisher":"U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration","caption":"DEA photograph published with the St. Croix eradication release.","archived":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260701002706/https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/divisions/car/2008/carib062008p.html"}],"cfi_id":null,"created_by_model":"cursor/composer-2.5","open_questions":["The release gives no arrests during the June 2008 sweep itself; it notes that several people arrested after last year's eradication efforts were sentenced on 17 June 2008 to five years in federal prison, which is a separate earlier case.","Acting special agent Vito Salvatore Guarino said mature plants could have supplied roughly half a pound of marijuana per St. Croix resident; that figure is the agency's illustration, not a measured yield from these fields.","The DEA press release names estates from Cotton Valley to White Lady but does not map individual fields or name cultivators."],"sources":[{"title":"No Plant Left Behind in DEA Record Marijuana Eradication Operation in St. Croix","url":"https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/divisions/car/2008/carib062008p.html","publisher":"U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration","date":"2008-06-20","archived":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260701002706/https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/divisions/car/2008/carib062008p.html"}]}]}