Two Broward men among four charged in drug and human smuggling operation (South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Two Broward men among four charged in drug and human smuggling operation

By Rachel Hatzipanagos, Sun Sentinel
6:43 p.m. EDT, September 28, 2010

Two Broward County men were arrested for their part in a failed drug and human smuggling operation, federal officials said Tuesday.

Luckson Morin, 38, and Guy Derilus, 54, both of Broward County, were charged with attempting to transport illegal immigrants. Morin also faces a drug-related charge. The two made their first appearance in federal court Tuesday in Fort Pierce.

According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the men were involved in an incident on Sept. 26 when border protection officials came across a boat named "Who Cares" in the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. Officers boarded the vessel and inside found five people who said they were Haitian nationals. Officers also found four padlocked pieces of luggage with 78 bricks of cocaine inside, according to federal officials.

One of the passengers on the boat, Alphonse Pierre, a Haitian national, had the keys to open the luggage with cocaine inside. The captain of the boat, William R. Roberts, who said he was a Bahamian national, told agents that he was being paid to bring the boat to shore, officials said.

Agents set up an undercover operation the next day. They set up a meeting among Roberts, Derilus and Morin. During the meeting, Morin promised Roberts $3,000 per kilogram of cocaine, officials said.

Derilus and Morin were arrested after the incident, authorities said.

Roberts, 50, was charged with illegal smuggling. Pierre and Morin were charged with possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.