A 33-year-old woman was sentenced to eight years in federal prison Thursday after she and three other women hid cocaine in their bras and underwear upon returning to Port Canaveral from Jamaica earlier this year, the State Attorney's Office said.
- Documents: Women concealed cocaine in bras, underwear
- The women tried to bring cocaine to the US from Jamaica
- All 4 women have now been sentenced to federal prison
Lakisha Abney, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to eight years and one month for conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. She pleaded guilty on July 20, 2016.
According to court documents, Abney and three others — Shawnta Aiken, Ciera Bryant and Shenique Milbourne — traveled to Jamaica in May 2016 on board a commercial cruise ship.
When the four women arrived in Jamaica, Abney coordinated a meeting with someone who provided the group with more than six kilograms of cocaine concealed in bras and underwear. Abney paid the person for the cocaine, and the four women returned to the cruise ship with the cocaine concealed under their dresses in the bras and underwear they were provided, according to documents.
The women hid the cocaine in the cabin they shared for the remainder of the cruise.
When the cruise ship returned to Port Canaveral, Abney and the three other women departed the ship and entered the customs area of the port with the cocaine concealed in their bras and underwear.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers identified the cocaine during screenings and searches of the women.
Aiken, Bryant and Milbourne previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced as follows: Aiken was sentenced to two years in prison, Bryant was sentenced to one year and 10 months and Milbourne was sentenced to two years and six months.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security investigators.