Nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine held as evidence at Fiji’s Suva High Court have been stolen and replaced with flour, police said.
The drugs, valued at 30 million Fijian dollars ($13.3 million), were seized last year in a case involving Fiji-Canadian national Joshua Rahman, who was convicted of unlawful possession.
The seized drugs had been held at the court while appeals were heard. During an inspection on 15 September, it was discovered that seven of 39 bars of cocaine were missing. A subsequent investigation found none of the original cocaine remained while tests on the remaining exhibits were negative, police said.
Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said the seized drugs had been placed in the court vault in March 2021, but it was not known when the theft had occurred.
Six people working within the judiciary have been identified as persons of interest as they had access to the vault, he said. One person was currently outside the country, Tudravu said. Police are also examining other exhibits in the courts, including cash seized as part of the investigation.
The incident has exposed security concerns within Fiji’s judiciary while opposition politician Jone Usamate questioned if other exhibits had also been tampered with.
Justice Minister Siromi Turaga said he was shocked and authorities were reviewing security procedures.
Fiji has been plagued by concerns of drug trafficking with the courts often holding large amounts of evidence. It is also considered a major transit point for narcotics to Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia. The latest concern comes after the disappearance of another 12 kilograms of cocaine that had been confiscated.
