A FORMER senior police officer says Fiji’s drug trade could be disrupted faster if authorities strengthened intelligence gathering and focused on clear warning signs.
Former Police Mobile Unit trainer Tevita Ralulu said organised drug networks leave obvious indicators that police investigators should track more aggressively.
“All the police need to do is look at the indicators,” he said.
Mr Ralulu said unexplained wealth, sudden lifestyle changes and suspicious financial activity often point directly to drug trafficking.
“The indicator there – somebody suddenly has a lot of money.
“You check the bank accounts, freeze the bank accounts and disable the movement.”
He warned that transnational drug networks were becoming more sophisticated and required specialised knowledge and intelligence coordination.
Mr Ralulu said officers must be trained to interpret intelligence clues, including coded communications, navigation coordinates and international trafficking patterns used by organised syndicates.
“Those things are new to people who don’t know how to read them.”
He also believes experienced investigators and retired officers should be brought back to help train younger police officers.
“They have the knowledge. Maybe they are old, but the brain is there.”
Mr Ralulu said improving intelligence skills and investigative training would allow police to identify and dismantle drug networks before they expand further across Fiji.
