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Andrew Fahie, the disgraced Premier of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), struck a deal with an undercover agent of the   US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to collect US$7.8 million dollars (EC$21.8 million) on every shipment of 3,000 kilos of cocaine that he would have allegedly permitted to safely pass through the British overseas territory.

In this case, the agent posed as a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, which was looking to move cocaine worth millions of dollars to Miami and then to a more lucrative market in New York.

Two other individuals were arrested as part of the DEA sting operation, one of whom was the head of the Ports Authority on the island.

Court documents filed in Miami, including the affidavit of the DEA agent who negotiated with the BVI Premier, showed arrangements that would have granted containers of drugs safe passage into Puerto Rico and to the US mainland.

According to the court papers, the cocaine would be sold at between US$26,000 to US$28,000 a kilo in Miami and at the higher price of US$32,000 to US$38,000 a kilo in the larger and more lucrative market of New York.

Premier Fahie was charged with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, as well as money laundering related to this operation, which started on October 16, 2021.

Premier Fahie had also requested money from the undercover DEA agent to make a payment to someone in Senegal who had “fixed” a political problem for him.

It also exposed the extent of corruption in government circles within the BVI and Tortola.

Source: St. Vincent Times