A Miami-Dade Sheriff's deputy accused of trying to move Ecstasy onto a music-festival cruise is now staring down a summer trial date, after a judge on Thursday set the case for June.
The charges stem from an undercover operation at PortMiami in January 2025, when investigators say they found dozens of MDMA pills stashed inside candy packets as the deputy was preparing to board the ship.
In a brief hearing, Deputy Francisco Melo pleaded not guilty, and the judge slated the case for trial in June. Melo has already passed a drug test, and he had been with the sheriff's office for six years before being relieved of duty following his arrest, according to NBC 6 South Florida. The judge set the month but did not lock in an exact calendar date.
How investigators say he hid the pills
Authorities say the case traces back to a December undercover purchase that put detectives on Melo's trail. By late January, they moved in at PortMiami as he prepared to board Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, which had been privately chartered for a multi-day music festival.
Detectives recovered roughly 60 MDMA tablets that investigators say were tucked inside Skittles candy packets, according to reporting by Law & Crime.
Charges and legal path
Melo was booked on counts that include possession, sale and trafficking of a controlled substance, and authorities say the investigation brought together federal partners and local prosecutors, according to ClickOrlando. That outlet reports the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Public Corruption Prosecution Unit and the DEA assisted in the probe, a detail that could shape how the case is handled as it moves toward a summer trial.
Why the case matters locally
The arrest quickly became part of a wider conversation about accountability inside Miami law enforcement, landing alongside a series of internal suspensions that put the spotlight on departmental culture and oversight. Hoodline previously folded the Melo investigation into that broader narrative in a report titled Miami Officers Suspended, noting his case among several overlapping inquiries.
The June setting is the next big public milestone. Between now and then, pretrial hearings and filings will decide whether the case actually lands in front of a jury this summer. According to NBC 6 South Florida, the coming weeks should clarify when prosecutors will file motions and when a precise trial date will appear on the docket.
