Former prominent lawyer Shazran Abdul Lateef, 65, has been sentenced to an aggregate term of 14 months and 21 days imprisonment by the Suva Magistrates’ Court for drug possession and breaching bail conditions.
The ruling was delivered today by Magistrate Lisiate Fotofili, following Lateef’s decision to retract his initial not guilty plea from December 2019 and plead guilty to all three counts on his trial date of September 8, 2026.
The charges originate from an incident on December 10, 2019, around 3pm, when police intercepted Lateef’s vehicle along Milverton Road in Suva and escorted him to the Totogo Police Station.
A police search of Lateef and his vehicle uncovered six sachets of dried leaves from his pockets and vehicle, along with five zip-lock plastic bags hidden in his socks and car.
Scientific analysis by the Fiji Police Force Forensic Chemistry Laboratory confirmed the seized items to be 4.0 grams of cannabis sativa and 1.8 grams of methamphetamine.
By committing these acts, Lateef also violated the conditions of a prior bail agreement granted in October 2019, which mandated that he not reoffend.
In delivering the sentence, Magistrate Fotofili ordered an aggregate sentence of 14 months and 21 days imprisonment with a 9-month non-parole period for the drug possession counts.
This sentence will run concurrently with an existing uncompleted 44-month sentence Lateef is currently serving for a separate 2025 drug case.
The newly ordered 9-month non-parole period supersedes the previous 30-month non-parole period from the 2025 case, while the overall 44-month term remains undisturbed.
For the breach of bail condition, Lateef was sentenced to 14 days imprisonment, which was deemed already served during his time in remand.
Lateef was represented by lawyer Joji Cakau of Lazel Lawyers.
Inspector Jone Tupou prosecuted the case, Lateef has 28-days to appeal the decision.
