Two men were arrested on drug charges in St. Thomas after a traffic stop for a seat belt violation. Officers of the Special Investigations Bureau, conducting traffic checks near the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building, stopped a white Suzuki SUV when they noticed the front passenger wasn’t wearing a seat belt and an object was hanging from the mirror, potentially obstructing the driver’s view.

The driver, 24-year-old Calis Sewer, was told that he was being stopped due to the seat belt violation and possible obstruction of the rearview mirror. Although he provided his insurance documents, Sewer didn’t have his driver’s license with him. After verifying Sewer’s driving documents, officers noticed the nervous behavior of Sewer and his passenger, 56-year-old Javier Francisco Pimentel Feliciano.

When a K-9 officer was brought to the scene, the dog alerted towards the rear of the vehicle, allowing officers to search it. They found a black duffel bag containing 18 parcels of cocaine, totaling 19.75 kilograms. Both Sewer and Feliciano were arrested and charged with constructive possession of an illegal narcotic with intent to distribute and trafficking a controlled substance.

During their advice of rights hearing on Wednesday, March 22, both men were granted conditional release ahead of trial. The stipulations of the release had not been uploaded to the court’s online portal at the time of publication.