Andrew Fahie, the previous Premier of the British Virgin Islands, has denied enjoying a number one function within the drug conspiracy for which he was convicted earlier this 12 months.
Fahie was discovered responsible in February 2024 on expenses of conspiracy to import cocaine, cash laundering, and overseas journey in help of racketeering.
Final week, in a submitting within the Southern District of Florida, Fahie’s authorized staff responded to the prosecution’s objections to the Pre-sentence Investigation Report, which prompt enhancements in his sentencing primarily based on Fahie’s alleged function as a frontrunner in his prison actions.
The prosecution contended that the previous Premier was “an organizer or chief of a prison exercise that concerned 5 or extra individuals or was in any other case in depth.”
Nevertheless, Fahie’s attorneys argued that the proof offered throughout the trial doesn’t help the prosecution’s declare.
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They keep that Fahie was not the driving pressure behind the conspiracy, emphasizing that the lead roles have been performed by undercover brokers and informants managed by the U.S. authorities. The scheme, they declare, was orchestrated and manipulated to lure Fahie.
Inconsistencies in characterization
The response additionally highlighted key factors to counter the prosecution’s stance, declaring inconsistencies within the prosecution’s characterization of Fahie’s involvement and authority inside the conspiracy.
As an illustration, throughout the trial, the prosecution’s personal proof prompt that Fahie’s actions have been primarily directed or influenced by different individuals, akin to Oleanvine Maynard and Roxanne Sylvester, who have been allegedly deeply concerned within the planning and execution phases of the operations.
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Fahie’s staff additionally refuted the declare that he exercised decision-making authority over the prison operations.
They argued that the conferences and choices have been considerably steered by others inside the conspiracy, notably the confidential supply (CS) who was central to the prosecution’s case.
The submitting additionally clarified that Fahie’s function within the alleged conspiracy was not as an organizer however was misconstrued and overstated by the prosecution.
The response dismissed the notion that Fahie was accountable for recruiting different individuals, together with claims that he directed high-ranking Customs officers.
They described these allegations as missing substantive proof and context, declaring that a lot of the U.S. authorities’s narrative was constructed round out-of-context snippets from intercepted communications.
The authorized doc additionally countered extra sentencing enhancements associated to Fahie’s alleged abuse of belief and management within the conspiracy. His attorneys argued that these enhancements represent ‘double counting’, which they claimed are primarily based on the identical elements of his conduct.
Fahie, 53, was convicted of cocaine smuggling and cash laundering expenses on February 8, 2024.
He had been arrested on April 28, 2022, together with the BVI’s Ports Authority managing director, Oleanvine Pickering Maynard, who pleaded responsible and was just lately sentenced to 9 years in jail.
The previous BVI premier faces the opportunity of life in jail and a US$10 million superb, however his attorneys are asking the decide to condemn him to a 10-year jail time period.
