Gay takeover of Royal Caribbean mega-cruise in turmoil as multiple passengers arrested in drugs bust
Five men were arrested in Miami last week after allegedly attempting to bring drugs aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise marketed towards gay people.
The men are facing a variety of possession and trafficking charges after trained dogs alerted to their bags as they tried to board the Symphony of the Seas for what Royal Caribbean touts as ‘The World’s Biggest Gay Festival at Sea.’
After the dogs alerted, US Customs and Border Patrol officers searched the men’s bags and persons. They found containers of pills and clear liquids that tested positive for methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA and GBL.
The names of the men are Joshua Jenkins, 39, Brad Kloha, 41, Joshua Eddy, 41, Adam Jones, 49, and Hoi Le, 51.
The men were taken into custody by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office on February 1 and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center near Doral.
Eddy was found to have the most drugs and is facing the most serious charges.
Border Patrol officers discovered ‘several bags’ of pills and liquid that tested positive for 19.3 grams of MDMA, 3.4 grams of ketamine, 7.55 grams of meth and 80 grams of GBL.
GBL is a popular drug in the gay community’s party scene. The body breaks it down into GHB, which is a chemical classified as a central nervous system depressant and causes euphoria, disinhibition and increased libido. GHB is sometimes referred to as a ‘date rape’ drug because it can cause drowsiness, but it is also used recreationally with consent.
Five men were arrested in Miami last week after trying to board the Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas (pictured) for a cruise marketed as ‘The World’s Biggest Gay Festival at Sea’
Revelers enjoy a previous cruise. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by anyone pictured
Officers found GBL, which breaks down into the chemical GHB (left) when ingested, in Eddy’s luggage. They also found MDMA (right) on three of the arrested men, and they were all charged with trafficking the drug
Eddy was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of trafficking MDMA. His bond was set at $7,000.
Kloha was found to have 16.3 grams of MDMA and 17.8 grams of ketamine. He was charged with trafficking MDMA and possession of a controlled substance. His bond was set at $6,000.
Officers reported finding 22.8 grams of meth in pill form in Jones’s luggage. Court records show he was charged with trafficking MDMA.
The precise amount of ecstasy in Jones’s possession was not made public, but it must have been at least 10 grams, as that is the threshold for the trafficking charge in Florida. Jones’s bond was set at $5,000.
Le was found with 14.9 grams of meth and 3.2 grams of ketamine. He was charged with trafficking meth and possession of a controlled substance. His bond was set at $5,000.
Officers found 2.11 grams of meth in Jenkins’s luggage, and he was charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance. He appeared in bond court on February 2, and a judge released him on his own recognizance.
Customs and Border Patrol officers used infrared light and the NKT Test Kit U, which changes color when exposed to meth and MDMA, to identify the drugs, according to court records.
It is unclear whether the five men knew each other or were independently trying to bring the drugs on the cruise. The amount of drugs they were found with did not meet the threshold for federal prosecution, according to their arrest affidavits.
Joshua Jenkins, 39, (left) was found to have 2.11 grams of meth. Brad Kloha, 41, was found to have 16.3 grams of MDMA and 17.8 grams of ketamine
Adam Jones, 49, (left) was found to have 22.8 grams of meth and at least ten grams of MDMA. Hoi Le, 51, (right) was found to have 14.9 grams of meth and 3.2 grams of ketamine
The Daily Mail reached out to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office for comment and additional details outside of regular operating hours and did not receive a response.
On its website, Royal Caribbean billed the Symphony of the Seas cruise as ‘the world’s biggest gay festival at sea featuring seven outrageously fun nights of non-stop entertainment, jaw-dropping parties, and 5500 guys from around the world.’
The cruise was scheduled to depart from Miami on February 1 before making stops in Nassau, Bahamas, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St Maarten. It returned to Miami at 6am on Sunday.
