MIAMI, (Reuters) – The premier of the British Virgin Islands appeared in a Miami courtroom yesterday after being accused of money laundering and conspiring to import cocaine in a case that has embarrassed the British overseas territory.
Andrew Fahie, 51, was arrested at a Miami airport along with the managing director of the territory’s Ports Authority, Oleanvine Maynard, according to a complaint by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Fahie and Maynard, dressed in what appeared to be prison uniforms, appeared via Zoom in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Judge Jonathan Goodman scheduled a pre-trial detention hearing for Wednesday and a preliminary hearing for May 13.
According to the complaint, a DEA informant claimed in meetings with Fahie, Maynard and her son Kadeem Maynard to be a cartel member looking to move thousands of kilograms of Colombian cocaine through the territory’s Tortola island and eventually to the United States.
“Surely following the arrest of its Premier, the (UK Foreign Office) should now take direct control of the British Virgin Islands pending a further investigation into corruption and money laundering?” Chris Bryant, an opposition Labour member of the British parliament, tweeted on Friday.