A California man was arrested Friday in the U.S. Virgin Islands for suspicion of distributing drugs to passengers on a Caribbean cruise, according to The Associated Press.
Steve Barry Krumholz, 51, of West Hollywood was arrested for allegedly selling drugs and taking orders from passengers of the Allure of the Seas cruise ship, a charter dubbed as the “world’s largest gay cruise.”
Agents boarded the ship Feb. 9 and found drugs on a passenger who allegedly purchased the drugs from Krumholz. Later, agents searched Krumholz cabin and allegedly found over 142 ecstasy pills, methamphetamine shy of 3 grams, and a small quantity of ketamine. Krumholz was suspected to have carried more than $51,000 in cash, according to the agents.
Jeffrey Quinones, a spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection based in Puerto Rico, said Krumholz was arrested in the U.S. Virgin Islands, after the boat returned from the Bahamas.
Reports also showed that as agents were inspecting Krumholz’ cabin, two more passengers came by the cabin to purchase drugs.
Krumholz was detained on charges of drug possession with intent to sell.
Defense attorney for Krumholz declined to comment on his client’s case, citing that he had not reviewed all of the client files as of Feb. 11.
Allure of the Seas also declined to comment, but ship owner, Royal Caribbean International, said they adhere to a zero-tolerance policy for illegal drugs on-board its ships.
LGBT Weekly spoke with several passengers who were unaware of the arrest but said they knew that many people had been “kicked off the ship.” Police are investigating how such a large amount of drugs could have passed through security witout being detected.
