THE High Court in Suva has ordered the destruction of 20.8 kilograms of cocaine held in police custody in relation to the case of convicted Colombian national Aiden Alec Hurtado.

Justice Thushara Rajasinghe made the order yesterday after the State confirmed that the drugs had been retested and returned positive results for cocaine.

The court also ordered the State to file a report confirming the destruction of the drugs.

The retesting followed a directive issued by the court two weeks ago to establish the status of the drugs tendered as exhibits during Hurtado’s trial.

The State had earlier informed the court that the drugs had not been destroyed and remained in police custody, prompting Justice Rajasinghe to order further testing and verification of their weight.

While Hurtado was convicted in 2017 of unlawfully importing 18 kilograms of cocaine into Fiji in 2014, the 20.8 kilograms currently held in police custody were retested and confirmed to be cocaine.

He was initially acquitted in 2015, but following a State appeal, the matter was remitted to the High Court for retrial, resulting in his conviction.

He was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 15 years.

After deducting time spent in remand, his effective sentence was reduced to 13 years and 11 months, with a non-parole period of 11 years and 11 months.