Commissioner Dr Jalesi Nakarawa

The Fiji Corrections Service believes that more officers may be involved in drug-related activities.

This as two officers were dismissed following their involvement in a drug-related incident that was uncovered during a recent police operation.

Commissioner Dr Jalesi Nakarawa says he is determined to maintain a high standard of discipline and accountability within the service, ensuring that integrity remains at the forefront of the institution’s values.

Dr Nakarawa confirmed to FBC News that the raid was conducted in Nakasi on Tuesday and it was the first time the FCS was made aware of the officer’s involvement.

The two officers were present at a premises suspected of operating as a drug lab, where law enforcement authorities conducted a raid.

Nakarawa says they initiated their own investigation following an intelligence report.

He says an internal investigation revealed that the two officers, both married, had been renting accommodation at the premises, which was found to be connected to a known drug dealer.

“What we do know is that he is a person of interest to the police regarding drug investigations, but our information is that he was a recent prisoner in our Remand Center and the officer who was found there is a staff of the Suva Remand Centre where he was in.”

The Commissioner stresses that as part of their strict zero-tolerance policy towards misconduct or criminal behavior by its officers, FCS initiated disciplinary processes that led to the dismissal of both individuals.

“Their positions have been compromised because they are corrections officers. They are renting a room in a suspected drug lab premises. And the fact that they know or they may not know whatever they say, but they were there and there were drugs, paraphernalia that were caught in the premises. So they should know that the place is out of bound for them given their positions in the FCS.”

Meanwhile, FBC News has been reliably informed that the landlord of the property in question who is also a known drug dealer is a deportee.

The individual was remanded in custody at the Suva Remand Center for a case of unlawful possession of illicit drugs.

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