U.S. Attorney of U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York - Announces Cocaine Importation Charges Against Chief Superintendent Of Royal Bahamas Police Force And Other Corrupt Bahamian Government Officials

Elvis Nathaniel Curtis and Other Corrupt Bahamian Officials Led Efforts to Support and Protect Large-Scale Cocaine Shipments Through The Bahamas en Route to the United States

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Anne Milgram, the Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging 13 defendants with cocaine importation and related weapons offenses in connection with their participation in a massive cocaine importation conspiracy enabled by corrupt Bahamian government officials, including high-ranking members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (“RBPF”).  ELVIS NATHANIEL CURTIS, an RBPF Chief Superintendent, and

DARRIN ALEXANDER ROKER, a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (“RBDF”), were arrested on Monday in Florida and had their initial appearances yesterday afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  LORIELMO STEELE-POMARE, a/k/a “Steele” and WILLIAM SIMEON, a/k/a “Harvey Smith,” a/k/a “William Jacques,” a/k/a “Romeo Russell,” a/k/a “Dario Rolle,” were arrested overseas on Monday.  LUIS FERNANDO OROZCO-TORO was arrested overseas yesterday.  The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, for years, drug traffickers have smuggled tons of cocaine through The Bahamas with the support and protection of corrupt Bahamian government officials who control airports throughout the country and provide sensitive information about U.S. Coast Guard movements to drug traffickers.  This Indictment is the latest in a series of charges that this Office and the DEA’s Special Operations Division have brought against corrupt government officials around the globe who partner with dangerous cocaine traffickers.  Today’s charges should serve as yet another powerful wake-up call to corrupt officials everywhere—we will not rest until you are held accountable for your role in the drug trade that is poisoning this country and our community.  I commend the career prosecutors of this Office and our partners at the DEA for their tireless efforts to disrupt drug-fueled corruption wherever it takes hold.”

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “The arrests of corrupt officials, including a leader of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and another government official in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, expose the alarming betrayal of public trust that has enabled tons of cocaine to flow through The Bahamas and into the United States.  In 2024, there was a 5.4% increase in cocaine seizures in the United States.  By abusing their positions to accept bribes, protect traffickers, and facilitate drug shipments via airports and maritime routes, these individuals jeopardized countless lives for personal gain.  Let this be a clear message from the DEA: if you are a government official who uses your power to traffic in drugs and corruption, we will bring you to justice in the United States.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment:[1]

Since at least May 2021, drug traffickers have smuggled tons of cocaine through The Bahamas for importation into the U.S. with the help and support of corrupt Bahamian government officials.  The Bahamas has in recent years become an increasingly important transshipment point for U.S.-bound cocaine.  This is a result, in part, of its proximity to the U.S., as the northernmost Bahamian islands are less than 100 nautical miles from the coast of Florida, making The Bahamas an attractive route for cocaine traffickers.

The increased cocaine flow through The Bahamas and into the U.S. has been a direct result of yearslong, drug-fueled corruption by certain officials in key Bahamian government institutions.  Such corruption includes certain high-ranking members of the RBPF and other Bahamian government officials who work with drug traffickers to receive, protect, and provide safe passage for massive cocaine shipments through the airports and ports of The Bahamas.  These corrupt officials support the drug trade into the U.S. at multiple levels.  First, cocaine-laden aircraft, including on U.S.-registered planes, are received at remote airstrips and larger airports in The Bahamas under the supervision of corrupt RBPF officials who work with, and accept bribes from, drug traffickers.  Then, once the cocaine arrives in The Bahamas, those corrupt officials also help drug traffickers transport their cocaine from the northernmost points of The Bahamas to the U.S. using go-fast vessels, yachts, and fishing boats.

The DEA has historically coordinated drug enforcement operations with the RBPF through a counternarcotics program called Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, or “OPBAT.”  Although OPBAT has had its share of successes in combatting the drug trade in the Caribbean, certain corrupt RBPF and Bahamian officials abuse the OPBAT program and their relationship with the DEA to disrupt U.S.-led law enforcement attempts to combat drug trafficking in The Bahamas.  Corrupt RBPF officials have, among other things, denied the DEA access to seized cocaine and evidence, provided information to the DEA that was contradicted by aerial surveillance, and even informed a DEA agent that certain drug trafficking targets were “off limits.”

As alleged, CURTIS is an RBPF Chief Superintendent who supervises airport locations throughout The Bahamas, including the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau (the “Nassau Airport”), which is the largest airport in The Bahamas.  In exchange for bribes made by drug traffickers, CURTIS has abused his official position to, among other things, provide safe passage for cocaine shipments through airports in The Bahamas, with the assistance of other corrupt officials such as RBPF Sergeant PRINCE ALBERT SYMONETTE.  For instance, on or about October 18, 2023, CURTIS and SYMONETTE each accepted approximately $10,000 in bribe payments as a down payment for their assistance in what they understood to be an upcoming 600-kilogram cocaine shipment to The Bahamas through the Nassau Airport, for eventual distribution to the U.S.  Additionally, in or about September 2024, CURTIS explained that, in exchange for a $2 million bribe, a high-ranking Bahamian politician that CURTIS named would authorize the assistance and involvement of armed RBPF officials to facilitate incoming cocaine shipments.  CURTIS and ROKER also discussed abusing their official positions to transport drug proceeds from cocaine sales in the U.S. back to The Bahamas, including with Bahamian government and military aircraft.

Other corrupt Bahamian officials, such as ROKER, a Chief Petty Officer in the RBDF, have facilitated maritime drug trafficking activities through The Bahamas and into the U.S. by providing sensitive information about U.S. Coast Guard and DEA-led OPBAT operations to alert drug traffickers, in exchange for bribes.  RICCARDO ADOLPHUS DAVIS also purports to be an official in the Bahamian government who used his influence with corrupt Bahamian government officials to authorize drug trafficking facilitated by RBPF officials.

Drug traffickers who work with the RBPF and other Bahamian officials coordinate closely with pilots to fly their U.S.-bound cocaine shipments from Central and South America into The Bahamas.  These pilots also work for various Bahamian private charter companies that provide flight services to Bahamian citizens and foreign tourists who are visiting The Bahamas.

*                *                *

CURTIS, 51, of The Bahamas; SYMONETTE, 52, of The Bahamas; ROKER, 56, of The Bahamas; DAVIS, 59, of The Bahamas; SIMEON, 52, of The Bahamas; THEODORE NATHANIEL ADDERLEY, a/k/a “Blue,” 53, of The Bahamas; JOSHUA MCDONALD SCAVELLA, a/k/a “Cow,” 46, of The Bahamas; STEELE-POMARE, 59, of Colombia; OROZCO-TORO, 58, of Colombia; DAVON REVION KHAIM ROLLE, 34, of The Bahamas; DARREN ARTHUR FERGUSON, a/k/a “Hubba,” 54, of The Bahamas; DOMONICK DELANCY, 36, of The Bahamas; and DONALD FREDERICK FERGUSON II, a/k/a “DJ,” a/k/a “Billy,” 26, of The Bahamas, are charged with cocaine importation conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; using and carrying firearms during, and possessing firearms in furtherance of, the cocaine-importation conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum consecutive sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; and conspiring to use and carry firearms during, and possessing firearms in furtherance of, the cocaine-importation conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The statutory minimum and maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Special Operations Division’s Bilateral Investigations Unit, Nassau Country Office, Bogota Country Office, and Panama City Country Office, as well as the assistance of the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

The case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan L. Bodansky, Nicholas S. Bradley, and Juliana N. Murray are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If you or someone you know has information about the conduct in this case, please contact the DEA’s tip line at BahamasNarcoTips@dea.gov
 

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[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitutes only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

Contact

Nicholas Biase, Shelby Wratchford
(212) 637-2600

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The Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats

U.S Secretary Of State, Antony J. Blinken Opening Remarks at a Virtual Ministerial Meeting to Launch the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drugs

Synthetic drugs are the number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 49

Countries in the Western Hemisphere are working with the Organization of American States to develop and implement early warning systems to detect emerging synthetic drug use

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you very much.  Colleagues, on behalf of President Biden, welcome.  Welcome to the launch of the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats.  We are grateful to the senior government officials from more than 80 countries, as well as leaders from over a dozen regional and international organizations for joining us (inaudible).

We feel this acutely in the United States.  Synthetic drugs are the number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 49.  And it’s almost worth pausing on that fact.  The number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 49 – synthetic drugs, notably fentanyl.

Nearly 110,000 Americans died last year of a drug overdose.  Two-thirds of those deaths involved synthetic opioids.  For the individuals, the families, the communities affected, the pain caused by these deaths and by the millions who suffer with substance use is immeasurable.  It’s also inflicting a massive economic toll – nearly $1.5 trillion in the United States in 2020 alone, according to a report by our Congress; our public health system, our criminal justice system all bearing the costs.

That’s why President Biden has made it a top priority for us to tackle two of the critical drivers of this epidemic in the United States: untreated addiction, and drug trafficking.  In 2022 our administration released a National Drug Control Strategy that for the first time the United States embraces harm reduction efforts that meet people where they are and engages them in care and services. 

America is far from alone in facing this challenge.  According to the United Nations, more than 34 million people around the world use methamphetamines or other synthetic stimulants annually.

And every region is experiencing an alarming rise in other synthetic drugs.  In Africa, it’s tramadol; in the Middle East, fake Captagon pills; in Asia, Ketamine.

One of the main reasons we wanted to come together today is because we believe the United States is a canary in the coal mine when it comes to fentanyl, an exceptionally addictive and deadly synthetic drug.  Having saturated the United States market, transnational criminal enterprises are turning elsewhere to expand their profits.  If we don’t act together with fierce urgency, more communities around the world will bear the catastrophic costs that are already affecting so many American cities, so many American towns.

The criminal organizations that traffic synthetic drugs are extremely adept at exploiting weak links in our interconnected global system.  When one government aggressively restricts the precursor chemical, traffickers simply buy it elsewhere.  When one country closes off a transit route, traffickers quickly shift to another.  This is the definition of a problem that no country can solve alone.  That’s why we’re creating this global coalition.

We’re focused on three key areas: first, preventing the illicit manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs; second, detecting emerging threats and patterns of use; and third, advancing public health interventions and services to prevent and reduce drug use, to save lives, to support recovery for people who use drugs.

Now, of course, we’re not starting from scratch.  For years, governments, regional and international organizations, health workers, and communities have been coming up with innovative solutions on each of these priorities.  Countries in the Western Hemisphere are working with the Organization of American States to develop and implement early warning systems to detect emerging synthetic drug use.

Take-home naloxone kits, pioneered by countries in Europe, have been adopted by countries in Central Asia and other regions.  The International Narcotics Control Board is promoting intelligence sharing on the trafficking of precursors to help governments cooperate on interdictions and on prosecutions.  This coalition – this coalition is intended to build on these and other important efforts, not take their place, including efforts in the United States, which are among those shared lessons learned.

I’ll give just one example.  In April, we hosted the first ever City Summit of the Americas in Denver, Colorado.  We brought together more than 250 mayors from across our hemisphere, along with governors, tribal and indigenous officials, leaders from civil society and the private sector.  One of the sessions that I attended focused on local efforts to combat the fentanyl epidemic.

The city of Denver’s crime lab shared how it tracks the emergence of new synthetic drugs and overdoses.  Mayors from Canada, from Ecuador, and Mexico spoke to their strategies to tackle the rise in synthetic drug use.  This is precisely the kind of collaboration that we’ll foster through this global coalition, while championing other voluntary best practices like improved information sharing between governments and the private sector, better labeling and “Know Your Customer” protocols to help prevent the diversion of precursors into illicit use.

Today, in addition to this ministerial meeting, we’ll convene three expert panels.  The panel discussions will help define the goals of distinct working groups – one for each of the coalition’s major lines of effort – which will carry our collaborative efforts forward over the coming months.

Then in September, we plan to host an in-person meeting of this coalition on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week, where the working groups will report on their progress and help us chart a way forward.

At every step, our focus will be on developing practical policies, diminishing the public health and public security threats posed by synthetic drugs, improving the lives of our people (inaudible) It’s not enough to work with governments and international organizations.  We need to partner with the private sector, including chemical manufacturers, shipping companies, social media platforms - because this illicit trade is built on the pillars of legitimate global commerce.

Most synthetic drugs are produced from chemicals that are used legally in making pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, household products.  Traffickers advertise synthetic drugs on social media, they use online apps to communicate with prospective buyers and collect payments.

We also need to partner with hospitals and clinics, emergency departments, mental health professionals, and other public health stakeholders who are saving lives every single day while providing treatment and recovery support efforts.  And we need civil society at the table, including the community-based organizations that are on the front lines of this effort.

I mentioned a few minutes ago my meeting with city officials from the Americas who are developing these innovative responses to threats from synthetic drugs.  One of them who really stayed with me was Shawna Darling.  She’s a public health official from Denver.  She and her team drive a bright purple van that I got a chance to see, a clinic on wheels among the city’s underdeveloped neighborhoods, bringing services directly to vulnerable communities.  They distribute fentanyl test strips and naloxone.  They connect individuals with treatment and recovery programs.  They share information about dangerous new synthetic drugs.

Shawna explained to me that one of the reasons she’s been able to build trust with many of these vulnerable people is because she walked in their shoes.  She herself struggled with addiction for 13 years.  She spent time in and out of jail.  And she told me, and I quote, “I’ve learned what it feels like to be defeated and desperate, but I was able to get support and care that I needed, and now I’m able to offer that to others.”

When we talk about the hundreds of thousands of lives this epidemic takes every year, and the millions of families it’s ravaging, it’s easy to lose sight of the human beings behind the numbers.  So let’s remember that while this coalition is about protecting our citizens’ security, their health, their prosperity, it’s also about saving people’s lives, saving their futures – people who could be our neighbors, our friends, our loved ones; individuals who, like Shawna, have so much to contribute to their communities.

I can’t think of a more important or urgent undertaking for us, and I can’t thank you enough for joining this session, joining this coalition, and for the work that we’ll do together.  Thanks, everyone.

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Drug trafficking connections between The Bahamas and Haiti

Concerns Over Increased Drug Traffic Between Haiti And Bahamas

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

Nassau, The Bahamas



THE Bahamas was a prominent feature in a newly published United States narcotics report that cited concerns of increased drug trafficking connections between the Bahamas and Haiti.

 

According to the March 2014 Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs - International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, smugglers exploit the wide distribution of numerous islands and the high number of recreational vessels flowing through the Bahamas in 2013.

 

Despite a long-standing co-operation between the Bahamas and US authorities, the report noted challenges which included delays in extradition requests and a lack of Creole speakers in key Bahamian law enforcement units.

 

“Haitian and Haitian-Bahamian drug trafficking organisations,” the report said, “increasingly networked between Haiti and the significant Haitian diaspora in the Bahamas, continue to play a major role in the movement of cocaine.

 

“Investigation of these organsations is hindered by a lack of appropriately vetted and assigned Creole speakers within the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) Drug Enforcement Unit.

 

“Strong familial connections between the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas, coupled with direct flights between Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands, compel many Bahamian smugglers to travel to Haiti via the Turks and Caicos Islands with large amounts of cash for future smuggling ventures.

 

“There was an increase in cocaine and marijuana washing ashore on Florida’s coastline during the year, which indicates a parallel growth in the use of airdrops by traffickers.”

 

In addition, US officials noted that an agreement between the Bahamas and Panama based Copa Airlines in 2011 lead to an increase in cocaine seizures at the Lynden Pindling International Airport.

 

“Aviation routes are a cause of concern. Small, privately owned and operated planes ferry loads of cocaine from and between significant source countries in South America into the Caribbean. Law enforcement information suggests that drug trafficking organisations utilise airdrops and remote airfields to deliver large cocaine shipments to the Turks and Caicos Islands and to the Bahamas from Venezuela and Colombia.”

 

The report urged additional resources for drug abuse programmes in an effort to bring improvement to the rate of retention among patients at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre and inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison.

 

“Current, comprehensive drug consumption and use data is not available.

 

“Intake surveys and testing found that many inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison at Fox Hill, the only prison in the Bahamas, tested positive for drugs and some of these inmates maintain access to drugs during their incarceration,” the report read.

 

March 04, 2014

 

Tribune 242 

US urged to curb trafficking of weapons to the Caribbean

BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- As St Kitts and Nevis and other Caribbean states tackle the problem of crime, a former Antigua and Barbuda diplomat has warned that unless the United States takes the lead to put measures in place to curb the trafficking of weapons and drugs through the region, the situation will worsen.

Sir Ronald Sanders

According to CMC, Sir Ronald Sanders, who twice served as the Caribbean nation’s High Commissioner to London, said the issue of drugs, arms and crime is “the gravest problem” facing the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America - with the exception of Cuba. He said while in the past the US, Canada and European government have concentrated on cutting the supply through eradication and interdiction with limited success, “it is clearly the time to rethink this strategy.”

The former diplomat said that in doing so, the authorities in those countries must do so in full collaboration with both the producing and transit countries, both of whom “are as much the victims of the trade” as the countries in which the huge markets reside.

“Almost every country has the same problem and many of the smuggled weapons, when captured are traceable to the United States. This suggests that the absence of a vigorous policy to curb arms sales is unintentionally contributing to crime in Central America and the Caribbean,” Sir Ronald told a recent gathering of high-ranking military officers at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London.

He said countries of the region are overwhelmed by the crime that has developed as a consequence of drug trafficking. “In many cases, their police forces are out-gunned by the weapons available to drug gangs and they lack the numbers, the equipment and other resources to combat the problem,” Sir Ronald told the officers from Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

“In conditions of economic decline and increased unemployment, drug trafficking and its attendant other crimes escalate, as they are now doing throughout the region,” said the former chairman of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force against drug trafficking and money laundering.

“The US government could make an enormous contribution to resolving this huge problem by passing legislation and implementing machinery to control arms smuggling; by reviewing the practice of deporting convicted felons to their countries of origin; and by adopting measures to stop legal sale of assault weapons.”

The former Antigua and Barbuda envoy said in addition Washington should take a lead in organising collaborative arrangements with Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean to establish a comprehensive anti-narcotic programme that addresses both supply and demand.

“If this is not done, the problem of drug-trafficking and its attendant high crime will continue to plague Central America and the Caribbean with a terrible destabilising effect on the small economies that are least able to cope,” Sir Ronald warned in the CMC report.



September 22, 2009



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