As opposition pressure mounts over the current Bahamian administration’s alleged ties to individuals connected to organized criminal activity, Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Dr. Duane Sands is forcing the Davis government to answer a direct question: did murdered businessman Warren “Spy” Ellis ever receive public sector contracts from the administration?
Multiple credible, anonymous sources have confirmed to The Tribune that Ellis was attached to housing development contracts in Central Pines, Abaco, awarded in 2022. Several construction workers who were hired by Ellis to complete work on the project have corroborated this information, though they declined to offer additional comment on the record. Photographic evidence also places Ellis and his wife, April Dawkins-Ellis, alongside Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish at a pre-election campaign event, where both were wearing PLP branded materials.
When approached for comment on the contract claims, Housing Minister Keith Bell refused to either confirm or deny the reports. He stated he would launch an internal review of the matter but had not responded to the newspaper’s requests for follow-up comment by the time of publication.
According to Dr. Sands, the question of Ellis’ contract awards is a straightforward one that the government has no justifiable reason to avoid answering. “It’s a very simple question to answer,” Dr. Sands emphasized. “Rather than them constantly running away from the affiliations they have, they can simply confirm or deny. The public is entitled to an answer, and then they can decide what significance, if any, to attach to it. The public clearly would want to know what the answer to that question is, and then they can derive their own opinion about the significance.”
Dr. Sands framed this latest request for transparency as part of a broader opposition critique of the Davis administration’s pattern of awarding public contracts to individuals with confirmed or alleged ties to international drug trafficking. He pointed to the high-profile case of Eric Gardiner, who was arrested in the United States this past May on federal charges of cocaine and firearms conspiracy. US prosecutors allege Gardiner led a long-running criminal enterprise smuggling large shipments of cocaine into the US.
“We already know that this administration has had a very close relationship…with another alleged narco trafficker,” Dr. Sands said. “So, this is not unprecedented with this administration.”
Corporate public records link Gardiner to Top Notch Builder, a construction firm that secured a public-private partnership contract for the Eight Mile Rock Government Complex shortly before the 2017 general election. Another company tied to Gardiner, Complete Construction, is leading development of the Davis administration’s flagship Carmichael Village affordable housing project, which broke ground during the government’s first term.
Finance Minister Michael Halkitis has previously acknowledged he once served as a director for Top Notch Builder, but has maintained his role was limited to providing financial and corporate consulting services, with no involvement in the firm’s contracting activity. To date, senior Davis administration officials have repeatedly refused to provide substantive answers to questions about Gardiner’s connections to the government.
Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has previously pushed back on opposition scrutiny, arguing that the serious allegations contained in the US federal affidavit should not be turned into political theater, and accused the FNM of targeting individuals to destroy their reputations.
The opposition’s focus on government contracting integrity and alleged criminal ties to the administration predates Gardiner’s May arrest. Throughout the Davis administration’s first term, FNM leader Michael Pintard repeatedly warned the government against awarding public contracts to businesses owned by what he described as “gangsters”. In February 2024, former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis called on Davis to issue a formal commitment to bar criminals from receiving public contracts, saying “I cannot go into any more detail because my life would be in danger.”
More recently, Pintard has publicly called for government-funded independent public inquiry to investigate allegations of public corruption, criminal drug trafficking connections, money laundering facilitated through government contracting, and the alleged involvement of sitting public officials and members of the Bahamian armed forces in these activities.
The latest controversy centers on Ellis, who has been linked to high-profile serious criminal allegations for decades, though criminal cases brought against him were repeatedly discontinued before reaching a verdict. In 2001, he was charged with murder and attempted murder following the killing of nurse Joan Lunn at Princess Margaret Hospital, which occurred during an alleged plot to assassinate a patient under police protection. Those charges were ultimately dropped after Ellis agreed to testify against co-defendant Kendon Brown, who was later sentenced to life in prison for the crime.
In 2008, Ellis and an already extradited drug dealer were charged with the 2000 murder of Timothy Henfield. That case was stayed in 2009 after the prosecution’s star witness recanted their original testimony. Most recently, in 2018, Ellis and his wife were arrested at Lynden Pindling International Airport after police discovered more than $13,000 in undeclared cash in their luggage as they prepared to travel to Canada. Those charges were also later dropped. Ellis was murdered earlier this year, leaving the latest questions about his ties to the government unanswered without his input.