United Nations Office on Drug and Crime Country Manager Collie Brown speaking during the National Talanoa Session on Responding to Illicit Drugs in Fiji Symposium

Fiji faces a critical juncture in addressing both the influx of illicit drugs facilitated by highly sophisticated criminal networks and the widespread demand for drug consumption.

This has been highlighted by United Nations Office on Drug and Crime Country Manager Collie Brown while speaking during the National Talanoa Session on Responding to Illicit Drugs in Fiji Symposium.

Brown says Fiji is no longer a highway for illicit drugs moving through the region to more lucrative markets, but it’s now become an exit ramp for a domestic market.

He adds what is done in Fiji has the potential to provide lessons to the rest of the region.

“Because this is not just a Fiji problem this is a regional problem that we see across the region, drug trafficking, addiction, rising addiction issues that’s related to the drugs that’s coming in from Fiji.”

He adds that the collective flow of drugs that are coming into Fiji requires a regional and inter-regional response.