Southern District of New York | U.S. Attorney Announces Cocaine Importation Charges Against Royal Bahamas Police Chief Superintendent and Other Bahamian Officials

Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Anne Milgram, Administrator of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced the unsealing of an indictment charging 13 defendants cocaine importation and weapons offenses in connection with their participation in a mass cocaine importation conspiracy enabled by corrupt Bahamian government officials, including high-ranking members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force ( RBPF). RBPF Chief Superintendent ELVIS NATHANIEL CURTIS and Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) Chief Petty Officer DARRIN ALEXANDER ROKER were arrested Monday in Florida and made their first appearance yesterday afternoon in U.S. District Court of the southern district. from Florida. LORIELMO STEELE-POMARE, alias Steele and WILLIAM SIMEON, alias Harvey Smith, alias William Jacques, alias Romeo Russell, alias Dario Rolle, were arrested abroad on Monday. LUIS FERNANDO OROZCO-TORO was arrested yesterday abroad. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: As has been 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 the airports in across 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 Bureau and the DEA's Special Operations Division have brought against corrupt officials around the world who associate with dangerous cocaine traffickers. Today's charges should serve as a powerful new wake-up call to corrupt officials around the world. We will not rest until you are held accountable for your role in the drug trafficking that is poisoning this country and our community. I commend this office's career prosecutors and our partners at the DEA for their tireless efforts to end drug-fueled corruption wherever it takes hold.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “Arrests of corrupt officials, including a Royal Bahamas Police Chief and another government official in the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, reveal treason alarming public confidence that allowed tons of cocaine to flow through the Bahamas. and in the United States. In 2024, cocaine seizures increased by 5.4% in the United States. By abusing their positions to accept bribes, protect traffickers, and facilitate drug shipments through airports and shipping routes, these individuals have put countless lives at risk for personal gain. Let this be a clear message from the DEA: If you are a government official using your power to engage in drug trafficking 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 been smuggling tons of cocaine through the Bahamas for importation into the United States, with the aid and support of corrupt Bahamian government officials. The Bahamas has in recent years become an increasingly important transshipment point for cocaine bound for the United States. This is partly due to its proximity to the United States, since 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 flow of cocaine through the Bahamas and into the United States is the direct result of several years of drug-fueled corruption perpetrated by some officials at key Bahamian government institutions. This corruption includes some high-ranking members of the RBPF and other Bahamian government officials who work with drug traffickers to receive, protect and ensure the safe passage of massive shipments of cocaine through the airports and ports of the Bahamas. These corrupt officials support the drug trade to the United States on many levels. First, cocaine-laden planes, including those registered in the United States, are received at remote airstrips and major airports in the Bahamas under the supervision of corrupt RBPF officials who work with drug traffickers and accept bribes. Then, once the cocaine arrives in the Bahamas, these corrupt officials also help the drug traffickers transport their cocaine from the northernmost points of the Bahamas to the United States using super-fast ships, yachts and fishing boats.

The DEA has historically coordinated counter-drug operations with the RBPF through a counter-narcotics program called Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, or OPBAT. Although OPBAT has had its share of success in combating drug trafficking in the Caribbean, some corrupt RBPF and Bahamian officials are abusing the OPBAT program and their relationships with the DEA to disrupt the efforts of the forces of order carried out by the United States to combat drug trafficking in the Bahamas. Corrupt RBPF officials, among other things, denied the DEA access to seized cocaine and evidence, provided the DEA with information contradicted by aerial surveillance, and even informed a DEA agent that certain targets of the drug trafficking was prohibited.

As alleged, CURTIS is a Chief Superintendent of the RBPF overseeing airports in the Bahamas, including Lynden Pindling Nassau International Airport (Nassau Airport), which is the largest airport in the Bahamas. In exchange for bribes from drug traffickers, CURTIS abused his official position to, among other things, ensure the safe passage of cocaine shipments through Bahamas airports, with the assistance of other officials corrupt such as Sergeant PRINCE ALBERT SYMONETTE of the RBPF. For example, on or about October 18, 2023, CURTIS and SYMONETTE each accepted approximately $10,000 in bribes as a down payment for their assistance in what they believed to be an upcoming shipment of 600 kilograms of cocaine to the Bahamas via the Nassau Airport, for possible distribution in the United States. Additionally, around September 2024, CURTIS explained that in exchange for a $2 million bribe, a high-ranking Bahamian politician appointed by CURTIS would authorize the assistance and involvement of officials armed with the RBPF to facilitate inbound cocaine shipments. CURTIS and ROKER also discussed the abuse of their official positions to transport proceeds from the sale of cocaine in the United States to the Bahamas, including with the Bahamian government and military aircraft.

Other corrupt Bahamian officials, such as ROKER, an RBDF chief petty officer, facilitated maritime drug trafficking activities through the Bahamas and into the United States by providing sensitive information about U.S. Coast Guard operations and OPBAT run by the DEA to alert drug traffickers, in exchange for bribes. RICCARDO ADOLPHUS DAVIS also claims to be a Bahamian government official who used his influence with corrupt Bahamian government officials to authorize drug trafficking facilitated by RBPF officials.

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

* * *

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

The minimum and maximum statutory 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 Special Operations Division's Bilateral Investigations Unit, Nassau Field Office, Bogota Field Office, and Panama City Field Office, as well as with assistance from the Office of International Affairs of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.

The case is being handled by the Bureau's National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan L. Bodansky, Nicholas S. Bradley and Juliana N. Murray are prosecuting the case.

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

If you or someone you know has information regarding conduct in this case, please contact the DEA Tip Line at [email protected].

[1] As implied by the introductory sentence, the Indictment and the description of the Indictment presented herein constitute allegations only, and each fact described must be treated as an allegation.

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