Tortola resident Buney Chinnery, 22, has been sentenced to 8 months in prison by a U.S. court for his involvement in a human smuggling operation.
Chinnery was detained by U.S. Officials in October 2022.
During the trial, evidence revealed that on the evening of October 31, 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine agents noticed Chinnery’s vessel operating without navigation lights during a routine patrol of the waters between the U.S. and the British Virgin Islands.
Law enforcement reported that despite repeated warnings to stop the vessel, Chinnery refused to comply. Instead, he is said to have intensified the situation by accelerating his vessel and engaging in evasive manoeuvres, attempting to avoid capture by the agents.
The agents eventually managed to disable the vessel and subsequently boarded it. During their inspection, they discovered Chinnery and six other individuals who were attempting to enter the United States illegally.
Following the trial, Buney Chinnery was found guilty of failing to stop his vessel when approached by law enforcement and providing false statements.