Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua says the National Counter Narcotics Strategy is just one part of addressing Fiji’s drug problem.

He believes that targeting drug consumption directly will also bring positive results.

The Minister emphasizes that with strong government support, communities, religious organizations, and NGOs can significantly influence drug addicts to quit.

Tikoduadua adds that once drug consumption is reduced, it will become easier to manage the overall drug problem.

The Minister believes this problem will continue to persist if they only target drug dealers.

“Because if it’s a continued emphasis in terms of the work of the police or the narcotics bureau, all we do is we go pull down doors, tear down doors, arrest people and bring them back. It doesn’t really stop. We might stop those who are trying to sell them, but we have little effect in terms of those that are consuming them.”

Tikoduadua says the National Narcotics Bureau has just begun its operations, as previously much of the drug-related data was collected by law enforcement agencies separately.

The Home Affairs Minister says Australia has been playing a key role as part of the Vuvale partnership by sharing intelligence to help Fiji tackle this problem as well.