British Virgin Islands head appointed by the Queen detained after ‘drugs sting’
A politician appointed by the Queen to run the British Virgin Islands is being held by the US over an alleged drugs trafficking plot.
Andrew Fahie, the premier of the British Virgin Islands, was detained in Miami on Thursday by the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The 51-year-old has run the British overseas territory in the Caribbean since February 2019.
He is accused of involvement in an alleged conspiracy to import a controlled substance and money laundering, according to US authorities.
According to the Miami Herald, agents posed as cocaine traffickers from the Mexican Sinaloa cartel as part of the sting.
He allegedly agreed to a £560,000 payment to allow smugglers to use the island’s ports, not realising he was dealing with an undercover informant.
Another official, Oleanvine Maynard and his son Kadeem Maynard were also arrested during the operation.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss said last night: ‘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.’
Mr Fahie or a representative acting on his behalf are yet to comment on the allegations.
A long-running inquiry set up by the British government has been looking into allegations of corruption and governance problems on the island.
The commission hit the headlines last years when it emerged Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Cox had earned hundreds of thousands of pounds working as a lawyer on behalf of the BVI government.
The former attorney general has previously represented Mr Fahie at hearings.
Mr Fahie has publicly denied allegations by the opposition that he is involved in drug smuggling.
During a visit to London in November, The Guardian reported he said of the claims: ‘I find that statement very irresponsible.
‘It is clear from the inquiry there is no evidence to back up what he is saying, and it would be interesting to see if he would be willing to say that outside the protection of the inquiry as a private citizen.’
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