British Virgin Islands premier granted bond in US drug case

A federal judge in Miami has ruled that the premier of the British Virgin Islands can be released on a $500,000 bond, following his arrest on drug-smuggling charges in a U.S. government sting in South Florida

The premier of the British Virgin Islands could be released on a $500,000 bond as he awaits trial on charges tied to a U.S. government narcotics sting, a federal judge in Miami said Wednesday.

In a surprise decision, federal court Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes rejected prosecutors’ argument that Andrew Fahie would flee the U.S. if released. Instead, she said he could remain in Miami, at the rented home of his two college-age daughters, if he and his family surrender their travel documents and he wears an ankle bracelet monitor and pays the sizable bond.

Prosecutors said they would appeal the decision, meaning it's unclear when and if Fahie would be released.

Fahie, 51, was arrested last week during a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sting after accepting what he was told was $700,000 cash from undercover DEA agents and informants who posed as Mexican drug traffickers. Fahie and his ports director, Oleanvine Maynard, met with the group on a private jet in the Miami area, according to the criminal complaint.

The complaint says Maynard referred to Fahie as a “little crook sometimes” who wouldn’t hesitate to profit from a plan cooked up with the help of self-proclaimed Lebanese Hezbollah operatives to move mass quantities of cocaine and drug proceeds through the Caribbean island.

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This story has been edited to correct that the judge said Fahie could be released on $500,000 bond, not that he has been released on bond.