Fiji Police Chief Rusiate Tudravu has reaffirmed that the force’s approach to combating drugs is focused strictly on criminal activity, and not the nationality of those involved.
His comments come amid concerns raised by Pacific leaders at a regional policing summit about the possible involvement of Chinese criminal groups, including the 14K Triad, in regional drug trafficking networks.
Speaking at the summit, Tudravu said intelligence and transnational crime units are actively monitoring suspicious activities linked to foreign drug trafficking groups.
“This is not only the main way. There are other highways around the world; once we deal with this, they have other routes.”
Tudravu said Fiji’s focus remains on disrupting criminal networks wherever they operate, in close coordination with regional partners strengthening intelligence sharing and efforts to close emerging trafficking routes.
“For us, it’s not naming the country. It is the crimes that will be committed, even if they are from anywhere around the world. If a crime is committed, then we will investigate.”
He also noted the wider regional challenge, with the Pacific increasingly being used as both a transit corridor and a growing destination market for illicit narcotics.
“The Pacific is being increasingly used as a transit corridor to illicit narcotics, while growing evidence that some Pacific island countries are now shifting from being transit points to being destination markets.”
Police say their response to transnational drug crime will continue to be evidence-based, targeting illegal activities regardless of the origin or nationality of those involved.
