Local
Three passengers face drug charges after PortMiami cruise screening
An Arizona orthopedic surgeon was arrested with two other would-be passengers before a Norwegian Jewel sailing to the Bahamas. Authorities say searches found suspected MDMA, THC and psilocybin products; the surgeon’s attorney disputes how the drug weights were calculated.
Three passengers were arrested on drug charges before the Norwegian Jewel departed PortMiami for the Bahamas on Oct. 20, according to Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrest reports. One of them, an Arizona orthopedic surgeon, faces a trafficking charge and two possession charges.
Jacob Lee Henrichsen, 38, of Central, Arizona, was pulled aside for additional screening under a U.S. Customs and Border Protection operation that searches luggage before passengers board, deputies said. A search reportedly found gummies, capsules, pills, a vape pen, mints, lollipops and chocolate bars marketed as containing mushrooms.
The arrest report says some gummies weighing about 236 grams tested positive for THC. Nearly 11 grams of gummies, pills and capsules tested positive for MDMA, also known as ecstasy. The chocolate bars, which authorities said contained psilocybin, weighed nearly 160 grams.
Federal officers referred the case to local deputies because the quantities did not meet the threshold for federal prosecution, the report said. Henrichsen was charged with first-degree felony drug trafficking and two felony possession counts. A judge ordered him held on a $40,000 bond on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Henrichsen’s attorney, Orlando Rodriguez, argued in court that the reported weights include the full weight of the gummies and pills, not just their drug content. He said the gummies were largely sugar and water with small amounts of MDMA, and said he planned to raise the issue with the narcotics department.
The other two people arrested were Kimberly Ann Shannon, 57, of Norton, Ohio, and Lori Ellen Watt, 51, of Plainfield, Illinois. Their arrest reports say Shannon had 320 grams of THC gummies and vape pens, while Watt had 480 grams of those products. Deputies arrested both women on lesser charges; the specific charges were not detailed in the information available.
Henrichsen is an orthopedic surgeon at Mount Graham Regional Medical Center in Safford, Arizona, according to the hospital and state licensing records. The hospital did not respond to a request for comment, according to the arrest report coverage.
The arrests follow a separate group of drug-related arrests at PortMiami in February, when deputies arrested several passengers preparing to board a Royal Caribbean cruise. The latest cases stemmed from the pre-boarding luggage searches at one of the country’s busiest cruise ports. The allegations against the three passengers have not been proven in court.