Riya Bhagwan 
Drug flow into Fiji will show no signs of slowing as long as criminal deportees continue to relapse into drug use after returning home.
Police Inspector Jemesa Lave from the Ministry of Policing says the absence of proper pathways for these individuals to reintegrate into society is a major factor driving the drug crisis.
Criminal deportees are Fijian nationals who have served prison sentences overseas for crimes committed abroad and return to Fiji once released.
Many struggle to reintegrate, often falling back into drug use due to limited community support and rehabilitation programs.
Lave highlighted that this is a major challenge for the police in their efforts to curb the drug crisis.
“If they get deported, and if they are still active, sometimes they can’t reintegrate back into society, so they go back to their own habits and they activate their own contacts, and this becomes the local context for the drugs that come in,”.
Lave stressed that effective rehabilitation and reintegration programs are key to breaking this cycle.
He says there are hopes for the proposed Counter Narcotics Bill, with its focus on rehabilitation, to provide the necessary support to curb relapses.
However, speaking at the public consultations on the bill in Lautoka, UniFiji Legal Officer Natalie Raikadroka cautioned that while rehabilitation is essential, it must not come at the expense of accountability.
She stressed that offenders must still face consequences for their actions, ensuring the system balances support with responsibility.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
