Extensive Evidence Presented Against Former British Virgin Islands Premier Andrew Fahie
MIAMI, FL – Ahead of the start of the drug and money laundering trial against former Premier Andrew Fahie in January, the prosecution has disclosed a list of six persons expected to take the stand. Fahie, 53, is charged with one count of conspiracy to import a controlled substance, conspiracy to engage in money laundering, and attempted money laundering.
This is in addition to a subsequent charge of interstate and foreign travel in aid of racketeering that was added last year.
Former BVI Ports Authority Managing Director Oleanvine Pickering Maynard heads the prosecution’s list and is expected to offer critical testimony against Fahie after she was offered a plea agreement and a chance at a reduced sentence for her role in the scheme that shook the territory last year.
Maynard admitted in her plea agreement that she introduced a US Drug Enforcement Agency informant posing as a drug cartel member to Fahie and together they used their authority to facilitate a secret cocaine-smuggling plan.
The former Premier was arrested on April 28, 2022, at the Miami-Opa Locka airport after a sting operation along with his co-accused, Pickering Maynard.
Maynard’s son Kadeem Stephan Maynard aka Blacka was arrested on the same day in the US Virgin Islands.
Earlier this year, Kadeem pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to import cocaine and was recently sentenced to 57 months in prison.
Pickering-Maynard will be followed on the witness stand by US Drug Enforcement Administration agents Jossue Dominguez, Shad Aschleman and Brian Witek, along with Jon Adams and William Cortes from the US Customs and Border Protection.
The prosecution also released an extensive list of exhibits to be presented at trial, including recordings and transcripts of phone calls between Fahie and the government’s confidential source on various dates in March and April 2022.
The defence team, led by attorney, Theresa Van Vliet, has made repeated attempts to have the name of the informant disclosed ahead of the trial.
Additionally, there are WhatsApp message logs, a handwritten ledger from an April 27, 2022 meeting, call logs for various phone numbers, surveillance videos, a lease document for a property in Miami, and images of Fahie’s co-accused.
Fahie remains in confinement at the home of his daughters on a US$1 million bond ahead of his January 8, 2024 trial.