The Fiji Police Force has stopped a massive amount of drugs from reaching the streets.

Between March and May of this year, officers confiscated nine tonnes of harvested marijuana, with a street value of $79 million.

During a Town Hall meeting in Savusavu, Assistant Commissioner of Police Aporosa Lutunauga also confirmed that over the same three months, police seized 4.9 kilograms of white drugs, preventing $2.4 million worth from entering the market.

Lutunauga highlighted that these significant seizures are a result of ongoing drug operations in areas like Sasamaki, Kadavu, Navosa, and Cakaudrove, underscoring a concerning trend in drug activity.

Naweni resident Ulamila Toroki has requested police to step in to keep villages safe from crime and drug abuse.

“I’ve been away for almost 20 years, and I’ve just been back for about a year now. The drinking, the alcohol, like the unlicensed people selling alcohol in the village, it’s absolutely unbelievable. I come from Naweni, and it consists of three villages, Naweni, Dromuninuku, and Tacilevu, and these three villages in the whole of Fiji are famous for drug planting.”

As a response, villages and communities are being advised to set up their crime prevention committees.

ACP Lutunauga adds that community partnership is key in tackling drug issues in rural and remote communities.

“But most of the farms that we are uprooting, we cannot identify the owner. That is where we need your assistance to come and tell us who the owners are. I know it’s a dangerous situation, but we need to keep the future safe. For the future of our generation, we need to put these drugs to a stop right now.”

The Northern Town Hall meeting has been hailed a success, as it provided a great platform for the public to raise concerns on issues affecting everyday life and discuss solutions for addressing them.

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