The court of appeal has increased the sentence of an Australian national and a Fijian man by 11 years.

The duo were found in possession of $23 million worth of cocaine in 2016.

The appeals court has now increased their sentences to 25 years.

Joseph Abourizk and Josese Muriwaqa, were convicted of the unlawful possession of illicit drugs after they were found in possession of 49.9 kilograms of cocaine worth $23 million in Vuda, Lautoka in July 2015.

A year later they were sentenced to 14 year’s imprisonment with a non-parole period of 12 years.

The two had appealed against their conviction and sentence and the State appealed against their lenient sentence.

The State also requested the Court of Appeal to lay down sentencing guidelines for all hard drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine and submitted that the sentence should be primarily based on the quantity of drug rather than the role of individual offenders.

Having considered all the submissions and judicial pronouncements in Fiji and in other jurisdictions, the Court of Appeal set sentencing tariffs for all hard drugs in Fiji.

Abourizk and Muriwaqa will now have to serve 20-years before they are eligible for parole.