British Virgin Islands pm arrested in US sting operation

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British Virgin Islands pm arrested in US sting operation

The prime minister of the British Virgin Islands BVI has been arrested in a sting operation in Miami on charges of conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States and money laundering.

Andrew Fahie was arrested on Thursday morning, and the BVI governor, John Rankin, said in a statement that it was shocking news for people in the territory. At this time, I would call for calm. Oleanvine Maynard, the head of the port authority of the Caribbean territory, was also arrested in a operation in which DEA agents posed as cocaine traffickers from Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, according to the Miami Herald.

Liz Truss, the British Foreign Secretary, said she was appalled by the arrest.

Truss said this afternoon that the prime minister of the British Virgin Islands, Andrew Fahie, was arrested in the United States on charges related to drugs trafficking and money laundering.

I am appalled by these serious allegations. She said she had held talks with Rankin and stressed the importance of the recent inquiry into corruption in the Caribbean archipelago.

The UK set up a commission of inquiry into mis-governance in the British overseas territory last year, which has been accused of corruption, cronyism, jury intimidation and misuse of public funds.

According to Rankin, Fahie's arrest was the result of a US operation led by the US Drugs Enforcement Agency DEA and was not linked to the Commission of Inquiry CoI report.

The Commission of Inquiry's remit was focused on governance and corruption, and was not a criminal investigation into the illegal drug trade. He said that in order to avoid unnecessary speculation, I intend to move ahead with the publication of the inquiry report so that the people of the BVI can see its contents and its recommendations in the areas it addressed.

Fahie, who spoke to the commission of inquiry last year, denied there was any corruption in the BVI.

He said that the key to a country is its reputation, but there is no evidence in the CoI showing that the BVI is corrupt.