PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — The United States (US) on Tuesday said that two American citizens have been deported from Trinidad and Tobago to face federal charges of drug trafficking and failure to appear in court.

The US Embassy in Trinidad said that Tevin Williams and Zakiya Williams were deported last weekend and were accompanied by special agents from the US Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and US Marshals Service (USMS) Task Force, together with officers from the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) to the United States.

“The close law enforcement relationship and cooperation between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago resulted in the simultaneous return of two fugitives, a first in recent memory,” the embassy said.

It said that the two individuals were charged for their alleged crimes in California and New York in September 2023.  After being granted pre-trial release in 2023, they reportedly fled the country and travelled to Trinidad and Tobago, resulting in federal charges and the warrants being adopted by the USMS.

The embassy said US law enforcement authorities located the fugitives in March 2025 after information surfaced that they may have been hiding in Trinidad and Tobago.

“The effort to find the fugitives culminated in the days before the deportation flight with their arrest by TOCU and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Vetted Unit (VU) in the La Romaine area of Trinidad on August 19, 2025. On August 21, 2025, the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Homeland Security issued a deportation order for both fugitives,” the embassy said.

US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Charlie Franta said the close partnership between the law enforcement services and the results those relationships consistently produce, provides a shining example of what the two countries can accomplish together.

“Locating, arresting and conducting a return of two US fugitives simultaneously is a feat unheard of in the region. I’m very proud of our two nations’ professionals in law enforcement as they continue every day to strive to make our countries, and the world, a safer place for our citizens,” Franta said.