AUTHORITIES are stepping up vigilance against nitazenes, a highly potent class of synthetic opioids that Pacific law enforcement agencies fear could make their way into the region.
Although Fiji Police have confirmed that nitazenes have not yet entered Fiji, authorities say measures are in place to detect and prevent the potentially deadly substances from crossing the country’s borders.
New Zealand Police senior liaison officer for the Pacific, Superintendent Nicholas Brown said law enforcement agencies across the region, together with immigration and customs authorities, were working to prevent nitazenes and fentanyl from reaching Pacific communities.
“We can’t afford for that to happen,” Superintendent Brown said.
He said New Zealand Police were strengthening their international law enforcement presence, including through senior liaison officers based in Colombia and the United Arab Emirates, while also working with Pacific countries to build resilience against organised crime and illicit drugs.
Superintendent Brown said the police commissioners of New Zealand and Fiji had agreed to trial a localised version of New Zealand’s Resistance to Organised Crime program in Fiji.
The initiative is intended to strengthen community resilience and encourage communities to play a greater role in protecting themselves from organised crime and the harmful effects of illicit drugs.
“It empowers communities to look after and protect themselves, make themselves more resilient and resistant to substances coming in.”
What are nitazenes?
Nitazenes are a group of synthetic opioids that were originally developed decades ago as potential alternatives to morphine. According to information from the University of New South Wales National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, they were never formally introduced for medical use because of their high risk of overdose.
Their emergence in illicit drug markets has raised concern internationally because some nitazenes can be extremely potent and may be present in counterfeit tablets or other illicit substances.
Superintendent Brown said detecting the drugs at borders could be particularly challenging.
“It could be anything, to be honest. It can be powders, it can be pills, it can be liquids,” he said.
Organised criminal groups, he said, continually changed the ways they attempted to move drugs across borders, making cooperation between police, customs and immigration authorities critical.
But he also stressed that law enforcement could not monitor every situation on its own.
“We need the likes of civil society, the churches, we need to work together,” he said.
Fiji says borders are being monitored
Fiji Police confirmed that nitazenes have so far not broken through Fiji’s borders.
Police said officers had access to portable detection equipment, including the 1st defender and portable detection kits, which could provide initial indications of the possible presence of a substance.
Any suspected substance is then sent to the forensics laboratory for further testing.
Police said officers working in environments where they may encounter dangerous substances were provided with basic protective equipment, including gloves and masks, while forensic officers were equipped with personal protective equipment suits.
“Awareness is being made on the harmful effects of all drugs, fake or genuine,” police said.
The warning comes as regional authorities remain concerned about the movement of increasingly potent synthetic opioids through international drug-trafficking networks.
No nitazenes on Fiji’s essential medicines list
Fiji Medical Association executive member and FMA representative to the Fiji Medical Council, Dr Alipate Vakamocea said medicines entering Fiji were subject to strict regulation through the relevant government processes and the Fijian Medicinal Products Board.
“From the point of view of Government, that’s not a drug that’s on our essential drug listing,” he said.
The focus on nitazenes comes as Pacific countries seek to strengthen their defences against synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, amid growing international concern about the spread of highly potent illicit substances.
In Fiji, authorities say preventing these substances from entering the country will require more than border controls alone, with police emphasising the importance of cooperation between government agencies, communities, churches and civil society.
Under Fiji law, unauthorised possession, manufacture, supply, import or export of the drug carries a maximum penalty of a $1million fine or life imprisonment.
Authorities are continuing to monitor developments and strengthen their capacity to identify potentially dangerous synthetic opioids before they reach Fiji communities.
