MIAMI, FL, – Two Bahamian men face a maximum sentence of up to life imprisonment for smuggling and attempting to distribute cocaine and marijuana into the U.S.
Thomas Cash and Valdez Edgecombe have been slapped with charges of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine and marijuana as well as conspiracy to import the drugs with intent to distribute.
According to the filed charges, a United States Coast Guard vessel intercepted a 1982 31-foot Tiara vessel, identified as the `Black Widow,` approximately two miles off the coast of Port Everglades, Florida, in Broward County. Coast Guard personnel boarded the vessel, which was occupied by defendants Cash and Edgecombe.
During the inspection of the vessel, Coast Guard discovered several large bundles and packages containing substances believed to be marijuana and cocaine filling the cabin of the vessel. A field test of the contents of several of the suspect packages and bundles proved positive for the presence of marijuana cocaine. The approximate weight of the marijuana was two thousand pounds and the approximate weight of the cocaine was nine kilograms. Thereafter, Cash and Edegecombe were arrested and transported to the Coast Guard’s base in Port Everglades, Florida.
At a recent hearing, they both entered into a stipulation that allowed the Court to set a $250,000 Corporate Surety bond. As part of the stipulation, the government reserved the right to seek detention at a future date.
