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Illicit drug trade shouldn't tarnish Fiji's reputation: COMPOL

July 30, 2018 7:54 pm

Police Commissioner Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho says the illicit drug trade shouldn’t be allowed to tarnish Fiji’s reputation.

He says Fiji’s no longer an island in the pacific or a dot as we were most commonly referred to as the nation’s making great strides globally.

Qiliho adds Fiji’s reputation as just a small pacific island nation has changed drastically, therefore, the recent drug discoveries shouldn’t ruin the country’s achievements.

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He’s calling on law enforcement agencies to step up their drug policing and redouble Fiji’s efforts and commitment to fight the drug trade.

“We cannot afford to let our guard down, because once we do, criminal elements will infiltrate our borders and expose innocent Fijians to this dangerous trade. The Fijian public is relying on us to keep these harmful drugs away from entering our shores and more importantly infiltrating our communities; as the cycle of drugs is extremely vicious and we need to uphold our calling to the life of service and protect our communities from harm.”

The Police Commissioner says if this isn’t taken seriously then this will open the doors for syndicates to use Fiji as a playground for their illegal trade.

Qiliho says as a result, the blame will lay solely on law enforcement institutions as they failed to work together to strengthen enforcement.

He adds it’s important to have an integrated multilateral/multi-agency response to counter the world drug problem.