[Source: Ardu]

On average, around five cases of illicit drug activities were recorded daily between January and June this year, with 917 cases reported so far this year.

This was revealed by the Director of Serious and Organized Crime Intelligence Unit, Fisi Nasario at the youth talanoa session hosted by Fiji Red Cross Society today.

He says the statistics indicate that illicit-drug cases will increase this year compared to last year, as it has almost reached 1000 in just the first six months.

Nasario says they have observed an upward trend in illicit-drug cases over the last five years, with over 1000 cases recorded annually.

[Director of Serious and Organized Crime Intelligence Unit, Fisi Nasario]

“In 2019 we registered 1,275 illicit drug cases. In 2020, 1,501 and this was an increase. In 2021, the registered cases dropped to 1,032. In 2022, we registered an increase with 1,236 and in 2023, we had 1,615 cases registered regarding illicit drugs.”

Nasario says there may be more cases of illicit drug such as marijuana, but they have been challenged by the difficulty in identifying the responsible farmers.

“You can uproot as many marijuanas as possible, but without identifying the person who has cultivated it, without taking the person to task for cultivating marijuana, marijuana will continue to be an issue within our country.”

The Fiji Police Force has encouraged Fijians to recognize and report any instances of illicit-drug, as they heavily rely on information from people to help authorities curtail the unlawful cultivation and use of illegal drugs in Fiji.