Praneeta Prakash 
[ Source: Fiji Police Force ]
While there was a slight decrease in illicit drug cases last month, the Police Commissioner stresses that this remains a key priority for the Police Force.
Rusiate Tudravu says the organization registered 165 illicit drug cases which is a two percent decrease when compared to 169 cases for the same period last year.
He says 155 were related to unlawful possession of illicit drugs while ten were cases of unlawful cultivation of illicit drugs.
“Illicit drug trade is a key priority and while I cannot go into specifics details of upcoming operations I want to state that we are going to be relentless in our approach to disrupt destabilize and dismantle the illicit network by cutting the supply chain.”
The Police Commissioner says 139 cases were related to marijuana while 26 cases were related to methamphetamine.
The overall crime rate increased by 23 percent last month.
According to the Police Force, 1707 criminal cases were registered last month and of these, 430 cases were committed in the previous months or years.
Serious crimes increased by 13 percent, crimes against women went up by eight percent while crime against children rose by nine percent.
