Ritika Pratap 
[File Photo]
Drug syndicates in Fiji are being established by deportees from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
This was revealed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Crime Mesake Waqa during his address at the Fiji Law Society Convention and the 2nd Pasefika Lawyers Collective Conference in Nadi.
ACP Waqa says that these deportees have teamed up with local crime syndicates – groups typically involved in organized robberies, violence, and burglaries.
He confirms the deportees have direct links to international drug networks in all three countries.
“So once they settled in Fiji, they began to start up the network around and together they formed the syndicates. As I said, in 2012, in the environment, we started detecting methamphetamines in milligrams, and as I said, when it comes to grams, lately we have it in tonnes. So that shows how criminal syndicates, organized groups, have managed to connect themselves with the international cartels.”
This structure, Waqa says, led directly to the 4.15 tonnes of white drugs being discovered on Fiji’s shores.
He adds that before this syndicate was formed, Fiji was primarily tackling only the marijuana problem.
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