PHILIPSBURG--The leader of a criminal network that smuggled large amounts of marijuana into St. Maarten and supplied several local drug dealers was sentenced to three years in prison by the Court of First Instance on Wednesday.
Wesley Primo (49) was found guilty of the importation of marijuana between February and October 2022, money laundering and being a member of a criminal organisation.
He was also convicted for almost 1.6 kilogrammes (kg) of marijuana and two rounds of firearm ammunition that were found during a house search.
Three other suspected members of Primo’s criminal network also stood trial on Wednesday. Two were found guilty, while Primo’s wife G.A. (51) was acquitted of all charges. She had been accused of marijuana possession and laundering illicit cash through money transfer companies.
The court handed down a 30-month prison sentence to Primo’s extramarital girlfriend, Setember Holubiczko (57). Described by the prosecutor as the group’s accountant, the California resident was found guilty of arranging marijuana shipments from the United States (US), money laundering and being a member of a criminal organisation.
Cesar Cruz (35), a former employee at a local shipping company, was given 150 hours of community service and a suspended 360 days in prison, on two years’ probation. He facilitated the smuggling by making fake customer accounts, monitoring shipments, delivering the packages and providing advice on how to better conceal contraband.
Cruz’ comparatively light sentence came down to his honesty, with the judge saying he respected Cruz for admitting wrongdoing and cooperating with the investigation. The judge also considered that Cruz, who cares for his girlfriend and young daughter, has his “life back on the rails”.
Cruz had confessed to his role in Primo’s smuggling ring, testifying that Primo offered him US $250 per pound for his services.
Cruz told the court that he went along with it at first, but soon found himself looking for a job outside of logistics as an excuse to stop working for Primo. He said he had given advice about concealment only out of a desire for self-preservation, because he would be in trouble too if Primo got caught.
“Good people do make mistakes. I made a mistake,” Cruz said during Wednesday’s trial. “I feel pretty bad. The way I was raised was not to live that life.”
Steve Joseph
The probe into Primo’s criminal network started on June 1, 2022, when Customs officers uncovered nearly 7kg of marijuana hidden in two boxes at a local shipping company.
The drugs were taken out and the boxes were resealed to be delivered to “Steve Joseph”, a fake name and account that Cruz created for Primo.
The investigation ultimately led to the four suspects being arrested on October 1, 2022.
A search of Primo’s marital home uncovered significant quantities of cash, the two rounds of ammunition and nearly 1.6kg of marijuana, which was stored in a transparent container in the bedroom.
Approximately $8,000 was found in a stolen vehicle in the yard, $300 and 1,300 had been hidden in the refrigerator, and $956 and 200 euros were in a purse. Police also found papers that listed local drug dealers with amounts next to their names.
Holubiczko was picked up at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) with $8,050 in her bag. She had been in St. Maarten for almost two weeks at that point and was at the airport to catch an outbound flight.
On the phone
The WhatsApp conversations and photos on Primo’s confiscated phone revealed a “very organised and professional” operation, the prosecutor said during Wednesday’s trial.
There was a WhatsApp group named “distribution” which included Holubiczko and others in California and Canada, as well as one named “shipping” which included Cruz.
There was a group called “money” which included his wife and others, and one called “pushers” that comprised several local drug dealers who, according to the prosecutor, received supply and paid in cash.
The conversations had Primo and Holubiczko talking about different high-grade marijuana strains and prices, packing material and transfers of money to the US, the prosecutor said. He also mentioned a photo of Holubiczko and marijuana trees near her home in California, where it is legal to grow up to six plants.
Primo and Cruz exchanged photos and talked about shipments, concealment methods and Customs’ activities, the prosecutor said.
He also confronted Primo with a WhatsApp conversation from May 2022, when he told a woman in Canada that his house was “loaded with dollars and weed”. Primo sent her a photo of a pistol the next day with the text, “My best friend. Max Steel.”
The chats show that Primo received money from retail dealers and arranged for various people to send money transfers every three to four weeks, always less than the $2,500 limit, the prosecutor said.
“There was sustained cooperation between multiple suspects in this criminal organisation, which had drug trafficking and money laundering as its goal,” the prosecutor said. “Without each person doing their part, the entire web would fall.”
The prosecutor told the court that there are indications that Primo’s trafficking operation started before 2019, but that authorities cannot legally prove it.
Not even a pound
Primo lifted his shirt and showed the judge his back. As he did this, he also told the court that he used to be a construction worker until a workplace injury left him needing multiple surgeries and a daily dose of 30 painkillers.
He said he had started researching the health benefits of marijuana and turned to using cannabis-infused tea and smoking four or five times per day to relieve the pain.
Primo told the court that he did import marijuana into St. Maarten, but only on a couple of occasions and only for his own medical use. He said he enlisted Cruz’ help to do this, and that he had no choice because it was getting too expensive to buy good-quality marijuana on the local market.
Primo denied being a member of a criminal organisation, and said he sometimes gifted small amounts of marijuana to his friends.
He also denied that the money transfers involved drug money, claiming the cash came from his own construction company and taxi business.
As for the ammunition found in the search, Primo said he had found it on a job site and had taken it home as souvenirs.
Holubiczko told the court that she had previously lent “a lot of money” to Primo and claimed that the transfers were repayments.
Holubiczko denied being a member of a criminal organisation, but did admit that she had once sent marijuana to Primo in a “small Walnut package”, showing the judge the size of the bag with her fingers. “Not even a pound,” she said.
Spider on the web
In his verdict, which was given immediately at the end of the trial, the judge said the network was “a typical example of a criminal organisation”.
The judge described Primo as the “spider on the web”, who had different “departments” that ensured the trafficking operation ran as smoothly as possible.
“It went so well that you even told Cruz that you wanted to give him a monthly salary,” the judge told Primo, referring to one of the WhatsApp chats. “You were not worried the police would catch you.”
The judge pointed out that the cash amounts being sent abroad were always below legal limits, an apparent attempt to “fly under the radar”. He also said he did not believe Primo’s claim that the money came from legitimate business.
Defence lawyer Shaira Bommel had argued that Dutch authorities do not have any jurisdiction to prosecute Holubiczko because she is an American citizen and does not live in St. Maarten, where the alleged crimes took place.
However, the judge struck down this argument, ruling that the crimes were committed in association with people living in St. Maarten. She also travelled to the island multiple times a year, the judge said.
Full acquittal
The judge fully acquitted Primo’s wife G., agreeing with defence lawyer Sjamira Roseburg that she could not be convicted for the 1.6kg of marijuana found in the house search.
The prosecutor argued that G. must have known about the marijuana because it was in a see-through container that had been placed out in the open.
Roseburg said the marital relationship was strained and distant. She also pointed out that Primo had already told investigators that the marijuana was his.
“Just because you clean the house does not mean you know everything,” the judge told G. in his verdict.
The judge also acquitted her of money laundering because the case file only shows that she sent money twice and both times were to family members in the US.
The cash went to her mother-in-law on one occasion, and the other concerned an amount of only $150.
With her being acquitted of these two alleged criminal acts, she also could not be convicted of membership in a criminal organisation.
