THE premier of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Andrew Fahie, has been arrested in the United States on drugs trafficking and money laundering charges, the BVI governor announced.
John Rankin, the BVI governor, announced that Fahie was arrested by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Miami on Thursday. Rankin says he was alerted to the arrest by the British Government.
The managing director of the BVI port authority, Oleanvine Maynard, was arrested alongside Fahie with both men facing charges of conspiring to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States, as well as money laundering, according to reports in the Miami Herald.
The pair met with undercover DEA agents acting as drug traffickers checking an alleged shipment of over $700,00 (£560,000) in cash stashed on a plane. Fahie and Maynard thought the aeroplane was going to the BVI, authorities reportedly told the Miami Herald.
Fahie and Maynard are set to appear in Miami federal court on Friday.
Maynard’s son Kadeem was also arrested in connection with the undercover DEA case. However, he was not arrested in Miami along with his father and Fahie, according to the Miami Herald.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said she is “appalled” by Fahie’s arrest.
Truss said Rankin would be holding an emergency meeting to “set out next steps”.
The Foreign Secretary said that one of the next steps would be to publish a report from the Commission of inquiry analysing how the BVI is governed.
Truss said: “This afternoon, the Premier of the British Virgin Islands, Andrew Fahie, was arrested in the United States on charges related to drugs trafficking and money laundering.
“I am appalled by these serious allegations.”
She held talks with Rankin and stressed the importance of the recent inquiry into corruption on the Caribbean archipelago.
“This arrest demonstrates the importance of the recently concluded Commission of Inquiry”, Truss added.
