Ritika Pratap 
Fiji and the Pacific Island countries have, over the past eight years, gone from being the drug transit route to an established domestic market.
New Zealand Police Senior Liaison Officer (Pacific) Superintendent Glyn Rowland says the drug problem has become so huge, something that they had not dreamt about.
Speaking at the Fiji Law Society Convention and the 2nd Pasefika Lawyers Collective Conference in Nadi, Rowland says that quantities of drugs intercepted in Fiji are driven by demand from New Zealand and Australia primarily.
“The route is obviously from America or Asia, and it was always said that a transit route never remains a transit route. And Fiji was always a transit route. So the demand, such in Australia and New Zealand, means that this is a transit route, and it comes through Fiji, and a transit route doesn’t stay a transit route.”
Rowland says while the NZ Police has partnered with Fiji and other Pacific countries in the war against transnational crimes, it’s not just about policing.
He says it’s about education, health, and community outreach programs to ensure these challenges are addressed.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
