A Florida sheriff’s deputy was arrested last week as he was getting ready to board a cruise ship, where police say he planned to sell ecstacy he was smuggling aboard in Skittles packages.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said a confidential informant bought pills in December from Francisco Melo, 36, and learned that he was about to sail on a Royal Caribbean Groove Cruise, which was hosting an electronic dance festival where he planned to sell the pills, WSVN reported.
Melo was arrested at PortMiami as he prepared to board the ship the Allure of the Seas Thursday morning. The ship had been privately chartered for the four-day music festival, WTMJ said. A search of his bag uncovered 60 MDMA pills, commonly known as ecstacy or molly, which matched the ones bought by the informant.
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero=Stutz said she was disappointed in Melo’s arrest.
“Narcotics don’t just harm those who use them, they devastate families, and fuel crime. No one is above the law, and this office will not tolerate criminal behavior from anyone, especially those entrusted to enforce it,” she said. “The actions of this individual are a betrayal of the public trust and of all the deputies who work tirelessly to protect our community.”
Melo refused to talk with detectives after his arrest and was released on a $25,000 bond on Friday after being charged with possession, sale, and trafficking of a controlled substance. WTMJ said that he had been with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office for six years and was relieved of duty after his arrest.
