A Fort Lauderdale jury on Tuesday convicted 32-year-old Bahamian national Terrance Wallace in a high-speed maritime smuggling case that mixed cocaine, “go-fast” boats and dozens of undocumented migrants off Florida’s Atlantic coast. Jurors found Wallace guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine, importing cocaine and alien smuggling after officers said they recovered roughly 168 kilograms of cocaine and 31 Chinese nationals without authorization aboard one of three intercepted vessels. Wallace now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and up to life.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, prosecutors laid out a digital and eyewitness trail that tied Wallace to a broader smuggling pipeline. Cellphone records, videos and witness testimony were introduced to show how he helped coordinate the runs. U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in the announcement, “This defendant helped operate a transnational smuggling pipeline that brought both cocaine and unlawful migrants into South Florida by boat.” Five co-defendants, Malik Delancy, Fiero Cooper, Darren Sears, Ivan Curry and Jeremiah Russell, have already pleaded guilty and are set for sentencing on June 8.
As reported by Tampa Free Press, the takedown that led to Wallace’s conviction grew out of an Aug. 30, 2025 interception, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter tracked three go-fast boats traveling from the Bahamas toward the Florida coast. Officers said one of the boats ignored repeated commands to stop, which led to warning shots and a disabled engine. When agents finally boarded, they reported finding the cocaine and 31 Chinese nationals packed onto the vessel.
How Investigators Say The Ring Worked
Federal agents say the operation relied on tightly choreographed runs toward the Fort Pierce area, with Wallace acting as a lookout on multiple trips. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he stayed on shore and communicated with boat crews by text and video, watching for law enforcement as the loads came in…