Top Island Leader in Drug Case Is Reported Quitting
Chief Minister Norman B. Saunders, arrested last week in Miami on drug conspiracy charges, resigned Thursday, the state-owned radio announced. The government refused to verify the report.
A spokesman for Radio Turks and Caicos attributed the report to a reliable source but offered no further details.
Britain’s administrator for the Caribbean island colony, Gov. Christopher Turner, would not confirm or deny the report.
Saunders, 41; Commerce Minister Stafford Missick, 47; Aulden Smith, 33, a junior minister of works; and Andre Fournier, 46, of Sherbrooke, Quebec, were indicted Thursday on 19 federal drug and conspiracy charges in an alleged plot to sue the islands as a drug stopover point.
Bond has been set at $5 million for Fournier, $2 million for Saunders, and $1 million each for Missick and Smith. All four are being held in a federal jail south of Miami.
They face possible sentences of up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 fines.
The arrests capped a nine-month investigation conducted by U.S. agents and authorized by the British government.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
