Former British Virgin Islands Premier Andrew Fahie has been found guilty in US federal court on conspiracy to import cocaine and money-laundering charges.
Officers had arrested Fahie during a sting operation at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in April 2022. The US Drug Enforcement Agency alleged that he agreed to facilitate the transport of cocaine through BVI to the US, in recorded conversations with an undercover informant.
Fahie was serving in office at the time of his arrest, but the following month the BVI government ousted him with a vote of no confidence.
On Thursday, 8 Feb. 2024, jurors found the former territorial leader guilty of conspiring to import cocaine into the US and for three related charges of money laundering and racketeering, as reported in the Miami Herald.
At the same time as Fahie’s arrest in 2022, officers detained then BVI Ports Authority managing director Oleanvine Maynard and her son, Kadeem Maynard, on joint charges. The former negotiated a deal for a reduced sentence, and the latter agreed to a five-year prison term.
Fahie’s case saw several delays, but, according to the Herald, it only took the 12-member jury four hours to find him guilty, for which he could face up to life in prison. His sentencing hearing before US District Judge Kathleen Williams is scheduled for 29 April.
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