Latest news with #FijiPolice
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Pacific news in brief for 20 June 2025
An NGO carrying out testing on drugs at an event - including this this bag of cocaine, in Colombia, in 2021. Photo: AFP/ Juan Pablo Pino The French Directorate General of Customs says 67 kilograms of cocaine has been seized in New Caledonia between April and May this year. Local media reported the operation resulted in the discovery of more than 500 kilograms of narcotics at various ports across the region. New Caledonia and French Polynesia Customs took part in a joint operation with the Australian Border Force, New Zealand Customs, the US Homeland Security Investigations and Jamaica. At the end of March this year, 142 kilograms of cocaine was seized in French Polynesia. It was found packed in insulation panels of a refrigerated container bound for Australia. Fiji police have reported 105 cases of family violence against women and children for May 2025. More than 200 women had crimes committed against them - 11 percent of these were sexual offences and 89 percent were assault-related. Seventy-two of those crimes were from a spouse or partner. One hundred and 14 children had crimes done against them and more than two-thirds of those were sexual offences. Five police officers were charged with offences during the month - including one facing charges of unlawful supply and import of illicit drugs. Police said there was a 14 per cent reduction in overall crime which is ahead of its 10 per cent target. The Fijian Elections Office says FJ$44,000 - about US$20,000 - in temporary worker payments from the 2018 General Election remain unpaid. FBC reported this has come to light during the Public Accounts Committee submission on the election office's 2021-2022 Audit Report. The election office's financial controller said the delay was caused by incomplete employee information for some of the 12,000 temporary election workers. The office said they are closely coordinating with the Fiji National Provident Fund to verify the remaining employee data to fast-track this process. The mining company New Porgera is celebrating achieving its production targets, despite the impact of continuing lawlessness and a devastating landslide in the region. The new company, run by Barrick Gold, but with a significant PNG Government shareholding, replaced the former company after a lease dispute shut it down for more than three years. The Porgera region of Enga Province experienced the devastating Mulitaka landslide, which claimed many lives and shut the main road link out of the district. There have also been extensive law and order issues that resulted in a state of emergency being implemented, and dozens of arrests being made, many for illegal mining within the mine pit. The Papua New Guinea Correctional Service has signed an agreement with the Department of Education which will see education and training programmes rolled out in jails across the country. NBC reported that the memorandum highlights the vital role education plays in restoring dignity, instilling hope, and creating opportunities for those seeking a second chance. The rollout of structured learning and skills training within prisons is expected to transform lives behind bars. Acting corrections commissioner Bernard Nepo called the initiative a lifeline for inmates.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
Fiji launches largest-ever drugs trial as the country tackles growing meth scourge
By Fiji reporter Lice Movono , Liam Fox and Doug Dingwall , ABC The Lautoka High Court in Fiji heard from witnesses in the opening days of the nation's largest-ever drugs trial last week. Photo: ABC News / Lice Movono It started with Fiji's largest-ever drug bust , seizing more than 4 tonnes of methamphetamine estimated at $FJ2 billion ($1.37b) in value. More than a year after police made the record haul in the country's tourism hub Nadi, seven people stood trial last week on several drug charges stemming from the January 2024 raid. A nation grappling with a growing meth scourge watched closely, as trial witnesses gave evidence revealing the alleged methods of a transnational meth trade. What witnesses described was an alleged drug exchange late in 2023 involving a satellite phone, a superyacht and a meeting on the high seas. As state prosecutor John Rabuku opened his case on Monday at the High Court in Lautoka, north of Nadi, he called Fiji an emerging "hub for transnational drug trafficking and organised crime networks across the Pacific". And he told the court that people like the men on trial were part of that phenomenon. State prosecutors opened their case in the drugs trial at the High Court last week. Photo: ABC News / Lice Movono "Such recreational drugs like methamphetamines are addictive and [are] undeniably linked to escalating violent crime rates, money laundering, unexplained wealth, corruption and the [increase] in HIV," he said. "It is through the collective participation of people like the accused persons, sitting in this box this morning, and their powerful local and overseas counterparts that such clandestine transnational drug trafficking networks have grown and thrived here in Fiji." Approximately 1.1 ton of white substances in crystal and powder was seized last night in Maqalevu, Nadi. Sunday, 21 January 2024 Photo: Fiji Police Force The trial involves a record number of locals to be jointly accused in a single court case. While the seven accused men pleaded not guilty, two people entered guilty pleas before the trial started. It is regarded in Fiji as a test for the justice system and its fitness to confront cases involving transnational drug trade allegations. Defence lawyers have told the court their clients were motivated by fear of drug cartels and acting under duress. Fiji meth bust. Photo: Fiji Police It is a case that has encountered delays. The trial, expected to last more than two weeks, is scheduled to hear from up to 60 witnesses. Among them are individuals granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony, some of whom testified last week. Fiji prosecutors allege that two of the men on trial, David Heritage and Justin Ho, arranged for the methamphetamine to be shipped into the country. Along with seven other co-accused, the prosecution have alleged that the two moved the drugs to locations around Nadi, including Denarau Island, which is home to major international hotel chains and is widely considered the jewel in Fiji's tourism crown. Heritage and Ho have pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawful importation of illicit drugs and to unlawful possession of illegal drugs. David Heritage has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a meth bust conducted in January 2024. Photo: ABC News / Lice Movono Five other accused men - Louie Logaivau, Ratu Aporosa Davelevu, Jale Aukerea, Viliame Colawailiku and Ratu Osea Levula - have also pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of illicit drugs. Another two, Sakiusa Tuva and Cathy Tuirabe, pleaded guilty before the trial and were convicted on Monday of unlawful possession of illicit drugs. Witnesses, who cannot be named due to a court suppression order, began the trial last week with their accounts of the alleged drug shipment that brought more than 4 tonnes of meth ashore at Fantasy Island, near Nadi. They described sailing on a barge to make a rendezvous with a superyacht in December 2023. Justin Ho is one of the co-accused in Fiji's largest-ever drugs trial. Photo: ABC News / Lice Movono One witness said the barge made three trips, passing through tourism hotspots in the Yasawa and Mamanuca island groups. But the court heard they didn't meet the yacht on the first two attempts, and after the second trip, the barge crew spent a night in an upmarket resort. On the third trip, the witness said he received the yacht's coordinates from a man he believed was Russian, speaking via satellite phone. He said the barge sailed beyond Fijian waters to meet the superyacht, which was crewed by three foreigners, one of whom he described as Hispanic. "I was scared, I knew something different was being offloaded," the witness said. "I have never seen drugs before but I suspected it was drugs." He testified the haul was so large, the containers had to be unloaded from the vessel and onto a truck via a crane. It was at another of Fiji's top tourist destinations, Denarau Island, that prosecutors allege several of the accused men stored and moved the meth. A key witness told the court he was working at a Denarau business owned by Ho when he alleges he was asked to move methamphetamines into a marine repair shop owned by Heritage. He said he and one of the accused men, Logaivau, spent about nine hours unpacking the containers - some leaking white crystals. Prosecutors allege that some of the co-accused men then transferred the drugs to a house at Voivoi Settlement in Legalega, Nadi, and moved some of the meth to another house in Maqalevu on Denarau, where police conducted their raids in January last year. John Rabuku, the state prosecutor, told the court police discovered about 797 plastic containers at Legalega containing white crystals believed to be methamphetamine. "The enormity of the methamphetamine consignment being 4.1 [tonnes] indicates that there could be no mistake and…no doubt that each accused person knew that it was methamphetamine," he said. And he alleged much of the meth seized was bound for overseas. All but one of the prosecution's witnesses have given their testimony. Police are trying to locate one witness who did not appear in court last week. The trial will resume on Monday with Fijian and Australian police officers set to give evidence. - ABC
RNZ News
6 days ago
- RNZ News
Pedestrian critically injured after being hit by motorcycle which fled scene
Police are trying to identify the rider of a motorbike involved. Photo: Fiji Police Force Rotorua Police are appealing for public assistance, after a hit-and-run incident left a man critically injured on Sunday afternoon. Emergency services were called to Edmund Road at about 2.15pm, after a crash between a motorbike and a pedestrian. The motorbike left the scene without stopping, while the male pedestrian was located with injuries and transported to hospital. The road remained closed, while emergency services attended and traffic management was in place. Police are now working to identify the rider of the motorbike that struck the man. The motorbike travelled from Edmund Road towards Clayton Road. Police would like to speak with anyone who was on Edmund Road between 2-2.30pm, who may have witnessed the crash. They would also like to hear from anyone who may have dashcam or CCTV footage in the Edmund Road and Clayton Road areas. Call 105 to contact police and quote reference number P062875068, or provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
RNZ News
09-06-2025
- RNZ News
Investigation after alleged rape of detained woman in PNG
A group of New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel, with two Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) NH90 helicopters, arrived in Honiara on November 14. Military police personnel from Fiji and Papua New Guinea are also present to assist the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force in maintaining security. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Koroi Hawkins Investigation is underway within Papua New Guinea police to determine how a former policeman who served time for rape was allowed to rejoin the police force, only to then allegedly commit another rape at a police station. The officer was convicted in 2012 and served 14 years. From initial indications, he may not have been formally dismissed from the force when he was convicted. He and two other officers are now in custody for the alleged rape of a woman who was detained. This incident has raised significant concerns about the the constabulary's recruitment and vetting processes, especially given previous calls for greater accountability and professionalism within the force. Police Commissioner David Manning has indicated that the focus is now on ensuring the individual is returned to prison.
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- RNZ News
Fiji police and customs officers among those charged in meth smuggling attempt
Authorities are continuing investigations into what they believe may be a wider criminal network, the statement added. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Two police officers, a senior manager at the Fiji customs office and a foreign national are among seven people who have been charged so far with allegedly attempting to smuggle four kilograms of methamphetamine into the country. Border officials seized the drugs, which were concealed in airfreight, at Nadi International Airport during a joint operation between the Fiji Police Force and the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS). In a joint statement on 19 May, the two organisations said that they had "successfully disrupted a significant attempt to smuggle methamphetamine into the country". "The interception took place after FRCS Customs Officers identified irregularities during screening of an airfreight consignment from a Southeast African nation. A thorough inspection uncovered several packets concealing over 4 kilograms of methamphetamine." Authorities are continuing investigations into what they believe may be a wider criminal network, the statement added. The two police officers who were charged are based at the Counter Narcotics Bureau, which was endorsed by Cabinet in July last year as an independent unit under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration. Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu Photo: Screengrab/Fiji Police Force Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu and Minister for Police Ioane Naivalarua told reporters that the bureau needs to undergo an urgent review. Tudravu told that they are considering a new structure as well as readvertising positions within the bureau. Meanwhile, the FRCS border manager was denied bail by the Magistrates Court on Monday. The case has been adjourned to next Tuesday and transferred to the High Court.
