NAHA, Okinawa — A U.S. Marine on Okinawa received an 18-month suspended sentence Tuesday after he was caught attempting to smuggle a small amount of LSD into the country through the military mail system.
Lance Cpl. Jorge Pavacantillo, 23, of Camp Hansen, pleaded guilty Nov. 17 in Naha District Court to violating Japan’s Narcotics and Psychotropics Control and Customs Acts, District Court Judge Hironobu Ono said during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.
Pavacantillo was flagged by a Japanese customs agent on April 5 after 1.18 grams of paper containing lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, was found in a package shipped to him from the United States, according to the charge sheet provided by the prosecutors’ office.
“You are found guilty of the charge,” Ono said as he passed sentence.
Pavacantillo, a dual U.S. and Colombian citizen, is an engineer equipment operator with the 3rd Marine Logistics Group. He joined the Marines in January 2020 and arrived on Okinawa 11 months later.
Authorities found the LSD during a routine inspection at Camp Kinser, Ono said. The powerful synthetic hallucinogen had been soaked into three pieces of paper and placed into a box of playing cards.
The package, mailed from an unnamed person, was addressed to Pavacantillo, the charge sheet said. It arrived at Tokyo International Airport in Haneda on April 3 and at Kinser the next day.
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