Illicit drug issues in Fiji are in a really big mess – AG

Attorney General Siromi Turaga says the illicit drug issues in Fiji are in a really big mess today as he has been informed that those involved included some people at the top which probably means someone who held the authority and control.

Turaga highlighted this during a Fijian Media Association panel discussion at the World Media Freedom Day celebration at Albert Park.

The Attorney General says because there was no concrete action from the previous government to address this issue, particularly from the law agencies, that is why Fiji is in this mess. He says when you hear that drugs are missing from Police Stations, that is a major concern and later on when you hear that the suspects who have been arrested for drugs are later released, that is another serious concern.

He adds because of confidentiality issues, he is following up with this information and says all he knows is that Fiji is in a really big mess.

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He adds it is mindblowing to hear some of this information.

The Attorney General went on to say that there has also been a rise in HIV/AIDS cases in schools in which the youngest victim is 10 years old.

He says the confirmed number of AIDS cases in Fiji over the past 3 three months is almost more than half of the total number of AIDS cases last year.

Turaga says all these things are caused by the usage of illicit drugs and has urged the media to reach out to faith-based organisations and the vanua to get their opinions on what they are also doing to combat this issue.

Turaga says the government is working on having a drug rehabilitation centre and says that is a challenge for the government and they cannot complain but look for the solution to it.

Fijian Media Association executive and fijivillage News Director, Vijay Narayan says this illicit drug issue has been there all these years but it was not being revealed in detail to the media on how bad the situation was.

He says for many years he has been asking the questions about these hard drug cases and they were told that most of the information was not correct.

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FMA Vice President and Fiji Times Editor in Chief Fred Wesley says over the years, the media organisation has been asking the questions about these illicit drug issues, and have been given a scenario that marijuana is the biggest drug issue in Fiji.

Wesley says it was not until this year when the biggest drug bust that happened in Legalega, Nadi where 4.1 tonnes of methamphetamine was seized which reflected the fact that this issue has been around for some time.

He says this issue did not just pop out of nowhere and everyone has a responsibility like the media organisations in highlighting this and also the responsibility of the government to sort out the rehabilitation centres.

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FMA President and Fiji Sun CEO Rosi Doviverata says what also has been lacking is the connecting of the dots in these social issues like illicit drugs, human trafficking and other serious matters.

Doviverata says seeing that the Ministry of Defence has only been allocated $10,000 by the government for this human trafficking issue, she says it is an area that the government needs to invest more in to.

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Fiji Media Council Chair Agatha Ferei-Furivai says this is a growing concern now maybe because people are starting to read more of it in the media.

She says she thinks what is important is that there should be follow ups undertaken and reporters need to investigate more on factual information before reporting.

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