Oleanvine Pickering-Mayard, former director of the British Virgin Islands Port Authority, was sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday for her participation in a scheme to deliver cocaine through the British Virgin Islands to the U.S.
According to a report from The St. Thomas Source, Pickering-Maynard, 62, agreed to a plea deal and was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to import more than 5 kilograms of cocaine. The report states that money laundering and racketeering charges were dropped after she agreed to testify against her former boss, then BVI-Premier Andrew Fahie.
Pickering-Maynard and her son, Kadeem, pled guilty in May 2023. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams sentenced Pickering-Maynard to nine years and four months in prison plus five years of supervised release, the report states. Kadeem was sentenced to 57 months in prison in November. Fahie was found guilty of cocaine trafficking, money laundering and bribery on Feb. 8, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug 5.
The scheme
In a complaint filed with the federal District Court of the Southern District of Florida on April 28, 2022, a special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration outlined probable cause against Pickering-Mayard, Kadeem and Fahie.
The complaint charged the three with conspiracy to import 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and conspiracy to launder money.
According to the complaint, on Oct. 16, 2021, a DEA confidential source had several meetings on the Island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands with a group of self-proclaimed Lebanese Hezbollah operatives who stated they had business ties to South Florida and the Middle East. Through the course of those meetings, the source requested assistance from the Lebanese group to facilitate the use of Tortola as a temporary storage port for cocaine transported from Colombia via boat heading toward the U.S.
Those efforts would also include laundering of drug proceeds. The Lebanese group agreed to assist the source by facilitating introductions to senior members of the British Virgin Isles government who could offer protection to their activities in exchange for payment.
A member of the Lebanese group told the source that they would approach the head of security to set up a meeting with Fahie, who was serving as the Premier of the BVI during this time. A member of the Lebanese group told the source that he “owned” BVI Port Authority Director Pickering-Maynard. Later, members of the Lebanese group told the source that they had contacted Pickering-Maynard, and she agreed to meet with the source after receiving payment up front.
On March 16, 2022, the source met with Pickering-Maynard’s son, Kadeem, on the Island of Tortola. In the secretly audio recorded meeting, Kadeem said that he was glad to see the source because they had already started to put things in place and make connections based on their conversations with the Lebanese group.
During this meeting, Kadeem said that he had been drug trafficking for 20 years. The source and Kadeem exchanged contacts and arranged a meeting on the Island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).
Four days later, the source met with Kadeem and Pickering-Maynard in St. Thomas. This time the meeting was both audio and video recorded. The source told the two that they were a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, and requested their help moving thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Tortola, to Puerto Rico, with a destination of Miami and then New York.
The source offered the two a percentage of everything sold in the U.S. and asked how he could get the money back to them in the BVI. Pickering-Maynard said that “what we do is set up shell companies.” Kadeem confirmed that they had already developed a plan to deal with customs, and that they had decided to set up a business as a shipping agent, then they would be good to go.
Pickering-Maynard explained that she had already started looking into different licenses, adding “you have to legitimize what you’re doing.” Kadeem stated he would be interested in receiving product for his help, and the source said that they thought their bosses would agree to that.
The parties also discussed the need to meet with Fahie and another unnamed BVI government official. In describing Fahie, Pickering-Maynard said, “I know the man, if he sees an opportunity, he will take it … I know the type of person he is, so I know he will take the opportunity.” With regards to Pickering-Mayndard, Kadeem said, “she knows the premier, he’s down with her, so she can go to him at any time and he would say ok.”
“You see with my premier, he’s a little crook sometimes,” Pickering-Maynard added. “He’s not always straight.”
At the end of the meeting, the source provided Pickering-Maynard with a bag containing $10,000 in U.S. currency as a gesture of good faith.
On March 22, 2022, the source had a recorded phone call with Pickering-Maynard and Kadeem. The two had spoken with Fahie and said he was very interested in working with the source. He said he needed an upfront payment of $500,000 and that he would handle the ports and airports. Pickering-Maynard said Fahie would need some money to get the previously mentioned unnamed government official on their side.
Pickering-Maynard dropped off the business license applications to aid their scheme and the party agreed to set up a meeting with Fahie for April 7, 2022. On that day, the source arrived in Tortola and met with Kadeem and Pickering-Maynard. The meeting was secretly audio recorded.
A vehicle arrived at their location and picked up Pickering-Maynard and the source with Fahie riding in the front passenger seat. Kadeem rode in a separate vehicle, and the two cars drove for over an hour to their meeting place. While driving, Fahie complained that the British didn’t pay him much. The vehicles arrived at a large stone house. Kadeem served as security outside of the meeting along with others.
Fahie, Pickering-Maynard and the source entered the home and sat down to talk in an audio recorded meeting. The source told Fahie that he was employed by people in Mexico, and requested use of the ports of Tortola for free passage of 3,000 kilograms of cocaine at a time. The cocaine would be packaged in construction material in 5 kilogram buckets of waterproofing paint. The material would not test positive for cocaine, but the cocaine would later be extracted over the course of about four days in either Puerto Rico or Miami.
The source offered Pickering-Maynard and Fahie 12% of the value of the cocaine sold in the U.S. Fahie pulled out a calculator and ran 3,000 kilos times $26,000 (the Miami price per kilo). That total was $78 million. He then calculated that 10% of $78 million would be $7.8 million.
Fahie agreed to allow the source to use the ports to ship his cocaine and said that Pickering-Maynard had the licenses for the companies the source would need. In exchange for his efforts, Fahie requested a $500,000 upfront payment. The source explained that he would provide additional money for them at a future meeting in Miami.
Additionally, the source offered to help fund Fahie’s re-election campaign, and asked that Fahie allow the source to have a hand in choosing his eventual successor to ensure the continuity of their drug operations. Fahie agreed to that proposal. The source provided Fahie with $20,000 in cash as a good faith gift to seal that they have an agreement.
During the meeting, Fahie expressed concern that the British had been trying for years to get him out of office. He also asked the source for $83,000 in cash to pay back a debt he owed to someone in Senegal. The source agreed to help with the debt and they arranged for Fahie to meet with them in Miami on April 27, 2022, where the source would leave $700,000 cash in a private jet at the Opa-locka airport in Florida to be retrieved by Pickering-Maynard on April 28, 2022.
Meanwhile, Fahie would fly to join the source at St. Martin on May 2, 2022, where they would meet the man from Senegal and pay back Fahie’s debt. Following the meeting, the source continued to communicate with Kadeem regarding their side of the deal where Kadeem would plan to receive 60 kilograms of cocaine a week.
On April 27, 2022, the source and an undercover DEA officer met with Pickering-Maynard in Miami, Florida, to discuss their arrangement and the side deal that her son Kadeem had planned with the source.
That same evening, the undercover agent and source met with Fahie at the same hotel where they met with Pickering-Maynard earlier. The meeting, held in the hotel’s conference room, was secretly audio recorded. During that meeting, the source asked Fahie about the man in Senegal, and why he owed him money. Fahie replied that he had known him for years and that he had “fixed” some political issues for him. The money owed was payment for “fixing” those political issues.
After further discussing logistics and financing behind the scheme, the source and Fahie briefly exchanged small talk, with Fahie explaining that he believed in magic and witches, and how to read lies in people.
The source then asked Fahie about the possibility of having breakfast in the morning, to which he replied he couldn’t because he had an early flight to Philadelphia. The source offered him a private plane flight to Philadelphia, so Fahie agreed to breakfast.
Caught green handed
On April 28, 2022, the source and undercover agent arrived at Fahie’s residence in South Florida to pick him up and transport him to the airport. These interactions were secretly audio and video recorded.
Upon arrival at the airport, the source said he had something to show Fahie. He took him to the plane destined for the BVI that they had spoken about the night before, and they entered the aircraft. In the back of the plane, the source showed Fahie designer shopping bags containing $700,000 for Fahie and Pickering-Maynard. Unknown to Fahie, this was fake currency.
The source explained that the money would be packaged in a suitcase like Fahie had requested, but they wanted him to see it in person first to confirm it was paid. Shortly thereafter, the parties exited the plane and Fahie was subsequently arrested.
Fahie confirmed that he was in fact “Andrew Fahie” and asked, “why am I getting arrested, I don’t have any money or drugs.”
Later that same morning, the source and undercover agent picked up Pickering-Maynard from the same hotel in Miami. These interactions were audio and video recorded as well. After arriving in Opa-locka Executive airport, the parties walked onto the tarmac and towards the source’s private jet.
They entered the jet, sat down and were shown the $700,000. The source also provided Pickering-Maynard with her $200,000 and said that it was her payment. They then explained that the rest of the money was for Fahie and it was very important to the source’s organization that the money be kept secure.
The source told Pickering-Maynard that the money would be further packaged and hidden prior to the flight. As Maynard exited the plane, she was arrested by law enforcement. On Thursday, Pickering-Maynard was sentenced to nine years and four months after agreeing to a plea deal where she was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to import more than 5 kilograms of cocaine.
Fahie was found guilty of cocaine trafficking, money laundering and bribery on Feb. 8, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug 5.
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