After several months of delays, the trial of former Premier Andrew Fahie has finally commenced, and United States prosecutors are characterizing the legal matter as an open-and-shut case to the jurors.
Prosecutors presented their case on Monday, January 29 in a Miami federal court against Fahie, alleging that he conspired to traffic cocaine from South America to the United States through the BVI. According to local media in Miami, the opening arguments of the trial shed light on accusations of Fahie’s involvement in facilitating the undetected transport of large quantities of cocaine through U.S ports.
Prosecutor Sean McLaughlin characterized the case “as simple and straightforward as it gets,” contending that Fahie knowingly played a pivotal role in moving thousands of kilograms of cocaine, receiving a 12% cut of all sales. McLaughlin asserted that Fahie used a portion of the illicit proceeds to pay bribes to other BVI officials, while the majority funded the construction of a new house in the BVI.
In Fahie’s defense, his attorney Joyce Delgado acknowledged the recorded conversations presented by the prosecution but argued that jurors must consider Fahie’s intent. She said Fahie was of the firm belief that the United Kingdom government was conspiring to frame him and remove him as premier of the Virgin Islands.
Delgado emphasized that after the jurors hear all the evidence, they will be left with enough reasonable doubt to return a not-guilty verdict.
Fahie faces charges of cocaine trafficking and money laundering conspiracies. The indictment alleges that Fahie and the former Managing Director of the BVI Ports Authority, Oleanvine Maynard, would obtain licenses, protect boats while docked in the BVI, and pay off government officials to facilitate the movement of Colombian cocaine through BVI ports to Miami.
The arrests of Fahie and Oleanvine Maynard took place in April 2022 after a meeting in Miami with a government confidential source, believed to be a member of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel and an undercover officer. Kadeem Maynard was arrested simultaneously in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
While the Maynards pled guilty in May 2023, with Oleanvine Maynard agreeing to testify at the trial, Fahie, who served as BVI premier from February 2019, faces the legal challenge to prove his innocence.
Kadeem is presently serving a 57-month prison sentence as part of his plea deal agreement to assist authorities in further investigations relating to the case.
Oleanvine who is listed as a key witness in Fahie’s case is yet to be sentenced after pleading guilty and taking a plea-deal agreement to assist in the ongoing case. Her sentencing has been delayed until February 22.
Fahie is represented by attorneys Theresa Van Vliet and Joyce Delgado of Venable LLP.