Winnipeg women accused of smuggling cocaine over border face possible 40-year sentences

Two Winnipeg women accused of taking a brick of cocaine into Minnesota are facing charges that could put them behind bars in the United States for up to 40 years.

The allegations against Krystle De Leon, 39, and Sarah Sophia Rose, 32, were filed in Roseau County Court, where the women made their first court appearance Monday.

De Leon is charged with first-degree sale of at least 17 grams of cocaine within a 90-day period and first-degree possession of at least 50 grams of cocaine. The felonies carry maximum 40-year sentences.

Rose is charged with aiding and abetting first-degree sale and first-degree possession — which also have maximum 40-year sentences — as well as gross misdemeanor fifth-degree drug possession for a smaller amount of cocaine.

A black 2017 Acura with Minnesota plates rolled up to the United States near the Warroad port of entry at about 1 p.m. on March 31.

De Leon was behind the wheel and Rose was in the passenger seat.

The two women from Winnipeg did not intend to enter the U.S., De Leon explained to American officers at the border, but rather, were headed to Nestor Falls, Ont., the court documents alleged.

Nestor Falls is about 120 kilometres southeast of Kenora. Warroad is near Middlebro in Manitoba’s extreme southeast, near the Lake of the Woods.

While U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers inspected the vehicle, a federal text alert noted De Leon had previously been flagged for “suspicious travel” and “possible drug smuggling,” the court documents said.

“The records indicated the driver was being looked at for possible drug activity taking place in the United States,” the court documents say.

Officers found a brown paper bag containing a vacuum-sealed bag inside sitting in the back seat. A “large powdery looking brick” was in the bag.

In Rose’s wallet, the court documents allege, officers found a bag with a small amount of cocaine and $420 in Canadian cash.

De Leon and Rose both admitted the drugs were cocaine, but said it didn’t belong to them, the court papers alleged. De Leon told police she had been paid $2,000 to transport the cocaine to Nestor Falls.

Rose did not make a statement to police.

The sealed brick of cocaine weighed 287.9 grams, which American police estimated was worth just under US$30,000. The smaller bag allegedly found in Rose’s wallet weighed about 3.4 grams.

Neither Rose or De Leon have been convicted in a Manitoba court in the past, provincial court records show. De Leon was charged in 2004 with drug-related offences, but they were stayed.

Minnesota court records indicate the women were granted bail with conditions. They are scheduled to appear in court again June 17.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca