A total of 91 drug cases have been reported from the first of this month to date.

The Police Commissioner has confirmed 11 of these cases were the cultivation of illicit drugs while 80 people were found in possession of illicit drugs.

This is more compared to the same period last year which recorded only 32 cases.

Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho says the Force is expected to carry out more drug operations and arrest more people involved in the illegal trade.

Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho

He’s calling on Fijians to remain calm, adding there’s no need for alarm as the Force has increased its battle rhythm in the fight against drugs.

“Since I started in the Police Force we have been collecting information that we have been digesting into intelligence that can make us effectively act on and that’s what’s been happening. It’s been a painstaking exercise that we have had to go through but we had to do it to be able to crack the network. And I’m confident now that we can launch a series of operations targeting this.”

He says there’s no need for any fear as the drug arrests and discoveries should bring comfort to the public that the Force is actively dealing with this issue.

Qiliho has also revealed this has been nearly a two-and-a-half year exercise to catch the culprits engaged in this drug trade.

“And we’re now acting on credible information that we have analyzed and there’s more to come. It’s not going to reduce but we’re going to increase our tempo as we gather more information.”

Meanwhile, the Police Chief adds a total of 88 drug cases were recorded last month.

Of this, five were cultivation of illicit drugs while 83 people were found in possession of illicit drugs.

From these, four were known to be white substance – methamphetamine while 84 were green drugs.

This is an increase compared to the same period last year where 58 drug cases were reported.