By Hayden Boyce – Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
FLORIDA| Andrew Fahie, the Premier of British Virgin Islands, was arrested in Miami on Thursday, April 28th, 2022, in connection with illegal drugs and money laundering.
BVI Governor James Rankin confirmed the arrest, saying that it “was a US operation led by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and is not linked to the Commission of Inquiry report”.
“It is my duty as Governor to inform you that this morning the Honourable Premier Fahie was detained in Miami on charges related to conspiracy to import a controlled substance and money laundering,” Rankin said.
“As this concerns the arrest of a British citizen, the US Government has informed the UK Government of this arrest, as part of the usual process followed when a British citizen is arrested abroad. The UK Government has subsequently informed me as Governor. As this is a live US investigation I have no further information on the arrest nor can I comment any further on it.”
The BVI recently underwent a Commission of Inquiry which focused on governance and corruption, and which the governor said “was not a criminal investigation into the illegal drug trade”.
He added: “To avoid unnecessary speculation, I intend to move ahead urgently on publication of the Inquiry Report so the people of the BVI can see its contents and its recommendations in the areas it addresses. I will have a call with Minister Milling and the Acting Premier Honourable Natalio Wheatley tomorrow to discuss further engagement between the UK and BVI on this urgent issue. I realise this will be shocking news for people in the Territory. And I would call for calm at this time.”
The governor said that Deputy Premier Natalio Wheatley will remain acting premier of BVI.
