[Photo: FILE]

Fiji is moving to a new and broader system for tackling illicit drugs after Parliament passed the Counter Narcotics Bill 2026 tonight.

Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua says the drug threat confronting Fiji is real, present and evolving, and now includes the risk of narco-terrorism.

He says the law moves Fiji away from an offence-based approach under the existing Illicit Drugs Control Act towards a modern, coordinated and whole-of-nation counter-narcotics framework.

A key change will be the establishment of a dedicated Counter-Narcotics Bureau, responsible not only for enforcement, but also prevention, tackling transnational organised crime, treatment and rehabilitation, child protection, and cooperation with other agencies and overseas counterparts.

The law also gives investigators new powers covering search and seizure, covert operations, surveillance, tracking, controlled deliveries and access to digital evidence.

Naivalurua says the powers are balanced by legal safeguards, judicial oversight and human-rights protections, including monitoring of the Bureau by the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission.

The legislation also provides for diversion, self-reporting and rehabilitation, creating different pathways for people affected by drug use rather than treating every case purely as an enforcement matter.

It also creates the new offence of narco-terrorism, carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and forfeiture of connected proceeds and assets.

With Parliament having now passed the Bill, Fiji has approved the legal framework for this new counter-narcotics system.

The new Act will replace the existing Illicit Drugs Control Act 2004 and Dangerous Drugs Act, although its provisions will only take effect on a date appointed by the Minister through a Gazette notice.