BVI News

The crown is still awaiting phone evidence from the United Kingdom in relation to the matter involving immigration officer Brian Henley who is facing 14 counts of breach of trust and customs officer Clarence Fahie who is facing one count of breach of trust.

Crown Counsel Jude Hanley told the court on Friday, January 27 that the preliminary inquiry in the case was set to commence but couldn’t because the crown is awaiting the phone transcript which will be available in February.

In the meantime the matter was adjourned to March 20.

Henley is accused of accepting some $1,000 apiece for issuing at least four of some 17 immigration stamps to Brazilian passport holders on two separate occasions last year.

Both Henley and Fahie were charged indictable and were therefore not required to plea. The men are on $70,000 bail with signed surety.

The allegations suggested that Fahie cleared a vessel ‘MV Paint in Black’ at Village Cay Marina on February 10, 2011, which is not an official port of entry. It is also alleged that on January 14, 2011 Henley placed entry passport stamps in four Brazilian passports allowing the holders to gain entry into the territory in violation of immigration department policy. This act was repeated, according to the crown, on February 10, when he stamped 13 more Brazilian passports and allowed their holders to enter the territory.

The details are that on January 14 an unknown vessel is believed to have entered the territory with unknown individuals who then left six days later on January 20 from Cane Garden Bay, bound for the United States Virgin Islands.

US law enforcement officials in their waters encountered the vessel and three individuals were apprehended. This took place on January 21. During an interview with US officials the arrested individuals are reported to have admitted having been given leave to enter the territory with stamps by a customs official.

These stamps were later discovered to have been issued and signed by Henley, who has held the job for some 15 years and has been in charge of the Waterfront immigration office for five of those years. These individuals were subsequently detained for illegally entering the US.

A fourth Brazilian national was later found with an immigration entry stamp from Henley. But this individual also had in his possession a telephone assigned to the accused.

Investigations by the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force, which started in light of the intelligence received from their US counterparts, determined that the individuals were not “properly cleared” through local immigration and customs to have held the entry stamps.

“As a result it was disclosed that the signatures affixed to the stamps were all signed by Mr. Henley’s,” the crown said.

The allegations further suggest that on February 10, 2011 the events repeated themselves when some 13 Brazilian passport holders entered the territory and docked at Village Cay Marina in the St. Maarten Vessel ‘MV Paint in Black’. In this case Henley was reported to have been contacted via telephone and informed of the vessel’s arrival and the request to clear it. Here, he again issued BVI entry stamp 1 in the passports but not before seeking the assistance of customs officer, Fahie.

Fahie’s involvement suggests Henley contacted him on the day in question to assist with the clearance of the vessel from Village Cay Marina. Henley and the vessel’s captain went to the Road Town Ferry Terminal where they met Fahie.

Fahie, a 25-year employee as a customs officer, then reportedly proceeded to the relevant office with the necessary Marine Control Document where it was examined, stamped and a $40 fee collected. At this point Henley is said to have entered the Ferry Terminal with the 13 passports, where he stamped and signed them before handing them back to the boat captain. He then transported him back to the marina where he offered his taxi services to shuttle everyone to a hotel separate from what was stated on their entry forms.

On February 10, some 24 hours after their arrival, customs and immigration officials responded to an anonymous tip that suggested illegal immigrants were staying in Cane Garden Bay. They responded and the group was arrested and taken to the Immigration Department and interviewed.

The Crown states that it was there they learned of Henley’s further involvement, which led to an internal investigation and Henley’s questioning. He initially denied clearing the individuals but later confessed to Chief Immigration Officer Dennis Jennings in a second interview, noting he did it with Fahie’s help.

“To this date Mr. Henley has not provided the chief immigration officer with the relevant documents pertaining to the clearance,” the crown said.

Police have checked the immigration system for records of the protocol clearance of the individuals but are yet to find them. The Road Town Harbor Terminal systems also have no information to verify the vessel’s proper clearance.

The crown said it is the policy of the Customs Department that if a vessel wants to be cleared at a non-gazette port of entry, permission must be sought and clearance given from the relevant authority. But in this case, no such clearance was sought or honoured.

The Crown also alleges that based on intelligence received, each of the individuals paid some US$1,000 for their BVI immigration stamps. During the investigation phase of the case, it is said police met and cautioned both individuals about their suspicions.

Henley was reportedly interviewed where he disclosed having received a phone call to meet the vessel at Village Cay Marina from an individual named “Romasco.” This was on February 10. He told police after clearing the cruise ship under his charge at the time, he received another telephone call from “an agent outside the territory” informing that the vessel was to be cleared. This individual is yet to be identified.

The immigration officer then reportedly told the authorities that he went to the marina where he proceed to have a drink at the bar before being approached by someone identified as the boat’s captain.  It is at this point that he contacted Customs officer Fahie.

He reportedly told officials that they never saw the need to clear the vessel at a designated port since it was “normal” for him to proceed without informing anyone when clearing elsewhere. After this encounter, Henley reportedly shuttled the individuals to the Elm Guest House in Cane Garden Bay, a spot he recommended. He received $80 for his services, and admits to giving his contact number to at least one of the individuals.

Further, information from Fahie during his interview suggests that he was on duty when he received the phone call from Henley who simply asked for help clearing a vessel. They met in the parking lot of the Road Town Ferry Terminal on February 10, where Henley handed Fahie the documents inside a customs vehicle.

Fahie claims though that he never gave clearance as there were some things simply not “matching up” in the manifesto.

He claims he gave the document to Dean Fahie, the Deputy Controller of Customs and told him his thoughts under the conditions of anonymity out of “fear.” But when questioned about the matter by Wade Smith, the Chief Customs Controller, Fahie admits to lying to the contrary since he and Smith were not on the best of terms.

Fahie said he did not request or gain financially from the transaction.

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