A former high-ranking official with the Miami-Dade Democratic Party was arrested on felony charges related to drug possession earlier this month.
Ricardo “Ricky” Junquera, 39, was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine, possession of the controlled substance ketamine and possession of MDMA, also known as molly or ecstasy, Feb. 1 at Port Miami. Junquera is the form Vice Chair of Outreach for the Miami-Dade Democratic Party and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Florida House of Representatives District 118 seat in 2020.
According to an arrest report by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, investigators were requested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to look into passengers boarding an outward-bound cruise ship about to depart to Haiti around 4:45 p.m.
Junquera’s baggage was selected for inspection by law enforcement. Inspectors found “several pills and powders” in Junquera’s baggage, according to the arrest report. Field tests were applied to the substances and they tested positive for the illegal drugs.
The report said Janquera did not comment to investigators as he was arrested. Florida Politics reached out to Janquera by phone Sunday afternoon and he declined to issue any statement.
Janquera was taking part in what was publicly billed as a gay cruise and there were several thousand other people getting on board the ship chartered by Atlantis Events.
The news website OutSFL provided further details of the arrest of Janquera and noted a total of nine people were arrested during the boarding process about two weeks ago. The Seaport Operations Bureau was using drug-sniffing dogs to check the luggage as the passengers were boarding and indicated the substances might be in those luggage containers.
Janquera is free after posting bond.
