TAMPA, FL – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has affirmed the conviction of Nedry McLean, who was sentenced to 87 months in prison for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine aboard a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
McLean was apprehended on December 30, 2021, after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft spotted a low-profile vessel in international waters approximately 37 nautical miles north of Colón, Panama. U.S. Coast Guard personnel observed the occupants jettisoning packages overboard before stopping and boarding the vessel. Authorities recovered 40 one-kilogram packages of cocaine from the water.
McLean was charged in the Middle District of Florida under case number 8:22-cr-00026-SCB-AAS-3 with violating 46 U.S.C. §§ 70503(a) and 70506(a) and (b), and 18 U.S.C. § 2. On appeal (Eleventh Circuit case number 22-13139), McLean challenged the constitutionality of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, arguing that Congress exceeded its authority under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution and that the law improperly extended jurisdiction to offenses lacking a nexus to the United States.
The Eleventh Circuit rejected those arguments, citing binding precedent. The court reaffirmed that Congress’s power under the Felonies Clause permits prosecution for drug trafficking on stateless vessels, regardless of a connection to the United States. It also confirmed that the Act’s definition of “vessel without nationality,” including vessels for which the claimed country does not affirmatively confirm nationality, is constitutionally valid.
Because the Colombian government could neither confirm nor deny registry for the vessel, it was deemed stateless under 46 U.S.C. § 70502(d)(1)(C), giving the United States jurisdiction under the Act. The district court had denied McLean’s motion to dismiss, and he later pleaded guilty to both counts.
