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Three persons, including two crew members of the Carnival Cruise Lines' Sensation, were charged yesterday by the Office of Statewide Prosecution with Heroin Trafficking and Conspiracy to Commit Trafficking in Heroin for bringing four and one-half kilograms of heroin into the State on the ship, according to Statewide Prosecutor Melanie Ann Hines. The charges were filed in Tampa.

Alfonso Orlando Maries, 35, and Moises Martinez, 34, worked aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Sensation when they allegedly brought the heroin in on the ship, according to agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Tampa Police Department. One of the ship's ports of call was Cozumel, Mexico. When it docked in Tampa on October 10, 2002, Maries and Martinez took a taxicab to a K-Mart store in Tampa to the intended recipient, John Jairo Naranjo, 38, of Miami. They traveled with the drugs taped to their bodies. It is believed that Naranjo was the intended recipient because his name was marked on several of the heroin packages. It is further alleged that Naranjo traveled from Miami to Tampa to receive the drugs.

The street value of the drugs is approximately $750,000. The charges each carry a minimum mandatory prison sentence of 25 years and a $250,000 fine.

The charges and facts cited here are accusations only. Maries, Martinez, and Naranjo are presumed innocent until and unless the charges are proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

For additional information contact:
Julie Chaikin Hogan, 786-336-1015 or 786-229-4487
Assistant Statewide Prosecutor