Former British Virgin Islands (BVI) Premier Andrew Alturo Fahie was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams for his involvement in cocaine trafficking and money laundering conspiracies. Fahie was convicted for facilitating the transport of large quantities of Colombian cocaine through BVI ports to Miami, expecting to earn millions, which he planned to launder through various businesses or smuggle back to the BVI.
Evidence presented at trial revealed that in March and April 2022, Fahie, along with BVI Ports Authority Managing Director Oleanvine Pickering Maynard (O. Maynard) and her son, Kadeem Stephan Maynard (K. Maynard), held meetings with an alleged Sinaloa Cartel drug trafficker. They agreed to secure licenses and protect the cocaine shipments while in BVI ports, planning to move 3,000 kilograms of cocaine as a test, followed by monthly shipments. Fahie and O. Maynard were promised a share of the profits from the sales.
Fahie and O. Maynard were arrested in Miami in April 2022 as they prepared to collect a $700,000 advance. K. Maynard was arrested in St. Thomas.
O. Maynard and K. Maynard both pled guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine and received sentences of 112 months and 57 months, respectively.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and DEA Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. The case was investigated by the DEA’s Miami Field Division, with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisting. Prosecutors were Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Gerarde and Sean McLaughlin, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Charest-Turken handling asset forfeiture.
The South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, established in 1990, played a crucial role in the case. This program involves federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies working together to address drug-related and violent crime in the region, including threats like the opioid epidemic, fentanyl, and cocaine. HIDTA is funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy under the Executive Office of the President of the United States.
For more information, related court documents can be found on the District Court for the Southern District of Florida’s website (www.flsd.uscourts.gov) under case number 22-CR-20191.
By FCCT Editorial Team
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