Five high school students were arrested for drug related offenses last month.

Acting Police Commissioner Juki Fong Chew says that the five were among the 163 individuals who were charged for drug related offenses.

Chew states that the number of illicit drugs increased by 42 per cent , having recorded 188 drug cases when compared to the 132 for the same period last year.

He says of the 188 cases recorded, 181 were related to the unlawful possession of illicit drugs and seven cases of unlawful cultivation of illicit drugs.

The Acting Police Chief says 46 cases were related to methamphetamine, one case for cocaine while the remaining 141 cases were linked to marijuana.

Lautoka recorded a significant increase from four cases in 2023 to 32 cases in 2024.

Chew says that for unlawful possession of illicit drugs, 18 were methamphetamine and the remaining 14 were for marijuana.

The Acting Commissioner says the increase in the number of reports is also attributed to increased confidence in reporting following the heightened level of community awareness and outreach programs.

In July 2024, there were a total of 1,992 recorded crime cases and of these 171 cases were from previous years or months.

Out of the 171 cases, 35 were theft, 15 were assault causing actual bodily harm and 61 were sexual offences.

The remaining 60 cases were classified as other offenses.