The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Police Staff Association chairman Sonny Miller broke down in tears yesterday after being convicted yesterday of smuggling $1.4m worth of cocaine and $34,000 worth of marijuana into Acklins in 2022.

Miller, 47, a former Assistant Superintendent of Police, was found guilty of ten drug-related charges before Deputy Chief Magistrate Shaka Serville.

Magistrate Serville said the matter was not a usual case and that it was one he would not soon forget. The trial spanned more than two months.

His family members were visibly distraught and in an uproar on the courthouse steps as Miller was taken to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. He was allowed a brief moment with relatives prior to his incarceration.

Miller returns to court for sentencing on February 24.

Officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, working alongside the United States Coast Guard, seized 181lbs of cocaine and 31lbs of marijuana on June 7, 2022.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Roberto Goodman, an investigator in the matter, and Sergeant Leslie Wilson, one of Miller’s arresting officers, previously identified the drugs at the police warehouse. They confirmed that 15 packages contained marijuana, while the remaining 72 contained cocaine, based on testing.

Both officers identified their signatures on the packages before they were admitted into evidence. Sergeant Wilson testified that he saw Miller removing the packages from a plane that had arrived from Venezuela and landed in Acklins.

Miller, along with two Colombian nationals, Christhian Gaviria Aragon, 33, and Christhian Garcia Aristizabal, faces six charges relating to possession and conspiracy to possess and supply dangerous drugs. Only the Colombian nationals face importation charges, while Miller faces two counts of abetment to importation.

Aristizabal and Aragon pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in 2023 and were sentenced to 60 months in prison. Under the terms of their plea agreements, their sentences were reduced by 14 months in exchange for their testimony against Miller.

In 2024, Aragon alleged that Miller threatened him with a gun after a US Coast Guard helicopter appeared during the drug operation.

He testified that after landing in Acklins with a plane containing 400kg of cocaine and 15kg of marijuana, he handed over drugs to Miller and another officer who arrived in a marked police jeep. When the Coast Guard helicopter approached, Miller allegedly threw the drugs on the ground, cursed at Aragon and waved a gun at him.

Assisted by a Spanish translator, Aragon told the court he feared for his life during the incident and later cooperated with authorities. During cross-examination, he admitted it was his first time transporting drugs and that he had not been fully paid.

Miller, who was the officer in charge of Acklins at the time, denied the allegations and claimed he encountered his co-accused unloading drugs from the nose of a plane.

He testified that he approached the men tactfully after exiting a marked police vehicle and said one of them, who spoke English, asked where he could get a room.

Miller said he requested backup and drew his firearm to assist with the arrest after hearing a helicopter approaching. He claimed he was excited about the seizure, took photographs of the arrest and was congratulated by ACP Goodman prior to his own arrest.

Miller testified that days later his home was searched and he was arrested. He said during the search he cursed at two white American drug officers who told his arresting officer that Miller was going to lie to them, adding that he did not recognise them as local officers.

He further claimed that during a six-hour interrogation in New Providence on June 10, 2022, he was denied food and access to his medication, and later required medical attention.

In closing his defence, Miller said he would not wish the experience on anyone, held no malice and maintained that he was only performing his duties. He said he did not know why Sergeant Wilson would “lie” about him.

During cross-examination, Miller denied smuggling drugs or attempting to cover up his actions by closing vehicle doors or pulling a gun on his co-accused.

Defence attorney Bjorn Ferguson argued in his closing address that the prosecution was attempting to “ride a parade of inferences to a conviction”, alleging the case against his client had been fabricated.

In delivering his verdict, Magistrate Serville said video evidence showed Miller’s vehicle leaving and returning to the scene multiple times, and showed that the police vehicle’s door and rear hatch were open. A silver tin was also visible inside the vehicle near the door.

Magistrate Serville rejected Miller’s account as implausible and accepted the evidence of the Colombian nationals and other officers.

Miller was informed of his right to appeal within seven days of sentencing.

Terry Archer, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, and Shaneka Carey are leading the prosecution.