Drug Mule Sentenced to 16 Months in Federal Prison for Trafficking Cocaine into Connecticut

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KARINA CINTRON SANTIAGO, 25, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to 16 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking cocaine into Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 4, 2023, a search of a luggage bag that Santiago checked prior to boarding a JetBlue flight from San Juan Airport to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, revealed approximately 12 kilograms of cocaine.  When Santiago arrived in Connecticut and discovered that her bag was not at baggage claim, she reported it lost.  JetBlue personnel informed Santiago that when her bag was located they would deliver it to her, but she indicated that she would rather pick it up at the airport.  On June 7, 2023, undercover investigators posing as JetBlue personnel contacted Santiago to inform her that her bag had been located and would be arriving on a flight to Bradley International Airport the next day.

On June 8, 2023, investigators placed Santiago’s bag, which contained its original contents, on a luggage carousel at Bradley International Airport.  Cintron Santiago was arrested after she arrived at the airport and removed her bag from the luggage carousel.

On January 16, 2024, Santiago pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine.  Santiago, who is released on a $75,000 bond, is required to report to prison on September 23.

This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean P. Mahard and Geoffrey M. Stone.