Crime

14,000 marijuana plants worth over $40m seized by Police

June 28, 2020 4:48 pm

[Source: Fiji Police]

Police seized over 14,000 marijuana plants estimated to be worth more than $40 million in the past week.

Police say this is made possible through the use of drones during the operations which has drastically cut down the time used in major drug operations with more farms being discovered in a short period of time.

Drug operations previously would have taken days of searching and trekking.

Article continues after advertisement

The first and second discovery was made on Monday in the hills of Gasele Village which resulted in the seizure of more than 2,900 plants weighing more than 430kg worth more than $23 million and also more than 8,300 marijuana plants weighing more than 1,200 kg.

On Tuesday another raid conducted again in Gasele resulted in the seizure of more than 1,200 marijuana weighing more than 100kg with a street value of more than $3 million.

Drone footage of marijuana farms captured during the drug operations in Kadavu this past week.More than 14,000…

Posted by Fiji Police Force on Saturday, June 27, 2020

On Thursday the same team conducted another raid at a farm located at Naikorokoro Village resulting in the seizure of close to 300 marijuana plants.

On Saturday another raid was conducted in the hills of Naivakarauniniu Village which resulted in the seizure of more than 1300 plants, while a separate raid conducted at the Nabutautau Settlement resulted in the seizure of more than 1,600 plants.

One suspect is in custody for the alleged cultivation of the marijuana found at Naivakarauniniu Village.


[Source: Fiji Police]

While only one suspect has been arrested, Police have managed to destroy the remaining farms and this has been a successful week of operations.

The marijuana plants seized during the week have all been destroyed after a court order to destroy the drugs was granted by Chief Magistrate Usaia Ratuvili who was also in Kadavu conducting island court sittings.

Commissioner of Police Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho says more drones will be procured for the ongoing war on drugs as it saves them money in deploying officers for a longer period of time drug operations.


[Source: Fiji Police]

The Commissioner of Police has also called for public support.

“When the news of drug raids particularly regarding marijuana is made public, there’s a lot of calls to legalize the trade. We need to stop comparing Fiji to other countries because in Fiji’s context the cultivation and use of marijuana is illegal, and that is why we will continue to focus on arresting those involved in this illegal trade whether it be marijuana or other hard drugs”.


[Source: Fiji Police]

With increased capabilities to fight the war on drugs, the Commissioner says Police will not give up easily on its efforts of protecting Fijians from the negative impacts drugs has on society.

The Commissioner says families and communities are suffering and the Fiji Police Force cannot ignore the emerging threats and will continue its efforts on the war on drugs.