SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A California man was arrested in the U.S. Virgin Islands on suspicion of selling drugs to fellow passengers on a Caribbean cruise, officials said Friday.
Steven Barry Krumholz, 51, of West Hollywood, was arrested on board the Allure of the Seas in St. Thomas, said Jeffrey Quinones, a spokesman in Puerto Rico for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The ship had just come from the Bahamas on a charter billed as the "world's largest gay cruise."
Customs and Border Protection agents boarded the ship Wednesday and found drugs on another passenger, who said he had placed an order with Krumholz before the trip and picked them up while on board, according to an affidavit submitted by one of the investigating agents.
Agents searched Krumholz's cabin and allegedly found more than 142 ecstasy pills, nearly 3 grams of methamphetamine, a small quantity of ketamine and about $51,000 in cash, the agent said. While waiting for the suspect to return to his cabin, two more passengers came to buy drugs, according to the affidavit.
Krumholz was detained on charges of possession with intent to sell.
Defense attorney Gabriel Villegas declined comment Friday, saying he had not yet reviewed all the case files.
The Allure of the Seas, which shares the claim of world's largest cruise ship with a sister vessel, departed Port Everglades, Florida, on Feb. 6 with some 5,400 passengers in a trip chartered by Atlantis Events Inc., of West Hollywood. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Ship owner Royal Caribbean International said it has a zero-tolerance policy on illegal drugs at sea and it cooperated fully with authorities.