The Prime Minister of the British Virgin Islands was arrested on Thursday in the Miami area on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, authorities said.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the South Florida District of the United States, Andrew Fahi, who is the elected head of government in a small area of about 30,000 people, has demanded an advance payment of $ 500,000 to allow cocaine to escape through the territory. road to Miami and New York. He is accused of plotting to import at least five kilograms of cocaine and conspiring to launder money.
Oleanwein Pickering Maynard, the port’s director, and her son, Kadim Stefan Maynard, are also facing charges, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, a man who introduced himself as working for the Sinaloa cartel but was a confidential source for the federal authorities met with Ms. Maynard on March 20.
The man told Ms. Maynard that he needed help transporting thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, according to the document. Ms Maynard agreed to help and said Mr Fahie would also be open to such an agreement, according to the complaint.
On April 7, a confidential source met with Mr. Fahie, who asked for an advance payment to begin the process, and said Ms. Maynard could provide the licenses needed to pass cocaine through ports, according to the complaint. The source then gave Mr. Fahi $ 20,000 and said, “This is a bona fide gift to seal that we have an agreement,” according to the document.
The source also suggested that the authorities organize the confiscation of bad drugs and money from Mr Fahie on the territory in order to dispel the suspicion and make it look as if he is fighting drug trafficking, the document said.
“Fahi laughed and said CS had thought of everything,” the document said, citing a confidential source.
Mr Fahi, Mrs Maynard and Mr Maynard could not be contacted immediately and it was not clear who their lawyers were.
In a statement Thursday, Anne Milgram, an administrator with the Drug Enforcement Administration, said the arrests “should send a clear message”.
“Anyone involved in the importation of dangerous drugs into the United States will be held accountable, regardless of their position,” she said. “Today is another example of the DEA’s determination to hold corrupt members of government accountable for using their positions of power to provide safe haven for drug traffickers and money laundering in return for their own financial and political gain.
In an earlier statement Thursday, Liz Truss, the British foreign minister, said she had talked to the governor of the British Virgin Islands and that he would hold an emergency meeting on the issue.
“I am horrified by these serious allegations,” she said. “This arrest shows the importance of the recently concluded commission of inquiry.
Ms. Truss was referring to an independent study by the governor of the territory, John Rankin, which began in January 2021 to review the management of the territory and make recommendations for improvement.
The purpose of the ongoing investigation is “to establish whether there is evidence of corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty that has occurred in public office in recent years, and if so, what conditions have allowed this to happen”, according to the British government.
The investigation, officials said, “was launched in part in response to widespread public concern”.
Katie Banner contributed to the report.
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