Thieves swap drugs with flour under nose of Fiji police

Detectives were sifting leads yesterday after a massive drug heist in Fiji, searching for dozens of cocaine parcels swiped from an evidence vault and replaced with baking flour.

Better known for stunning beaches that draw tourists in droves, the South Pacific nation has become an unlikely stopover for cartels shipping drugs from Latin America into Australia.

Fiji police seized 39 bricks of cocaine in a 2019 raid, each weighing about 1kg and wrapped in plastic.

The port in Suva is pictured on Sept. 5, 2024.

Photo: Reuters

Fiji Police Force Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said investigators noticed seven bricks had gone missing earlier this year.

This prompted forensic testing of the remaining haul held inside an evidence vault at the High Court in the capital, Suva.

Tests showed that the cocaine once held inside the vault had been swiped under the nose of police and swapped with bundles of flour.

“Based on the discovery of the missing seven bars and the tampering of evidence, it was decided to test the remaining parcels — which tested negative for any trace of illicit drugs,” Tudravu told reporters.

Previous tests carried out after the bricks were confiscated in 2019 confirmed they held cocaine at the time, he said.

“Fiji police is taking seriously the concerns raised by the government, and I give my assurance we are tackling this investigation with utmost urgency,” Tudravu added.

Pacific islands such as Fiji and Tonga sit at the crossroads of ocean-trafficking routes used to shift cocaine from Latin America.

The so-called “Pacific drug highway” has in the past few years been flooded with synthetic methamphetamine.

This illicit cargo is increasingly spilling over into local hands, feeding drug addiction in communities where serious crime had been rare.

Intravenous methamphetamine use has fueled surging rates of HIV in Fiji, which was recently declared a national emergency.