Former BVI premier Andrew Fahie sentenced to 11 years in prison

The former premier of the British Virgin Islands, Andrew Fahie, has been sentenced to just over 11 years in prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking plot. The sentence, which Fahie has asked to serve in Florida, is significantly lower than the 19 years US prosecutors were hoping for. Fahie was arrested in Miami in 2022 following a large-scale US DEA sting involving undercover agents and an informant purporting to represent Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel. He was found guilty at trial earlier this year but has maintained his innocence, claiming to have been framed by the UK (which controls BVI as an overseas territory). Fahie is reported to have declined the opportunity to address the judge during his sentencing because he plans to appeal the conviction. US District Judge Kathleen M. Williams said Fahie had “lost his way” and called his involvement in the scheme an attempt to tip BVI “from a renowned tourist destination to haven for narcotrafficking.”