Chemicals could be brought in to rid the country of marijuana farms.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Planning, Research and Doctrines) Aporosa Lutunauga revealed this while presenting the 2020-2021 annual reports of the Fiji Police Force before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in Suva yesterday.
ACP Lutunauga said marijuana could regenerate once uprooted and required an effective measure of eradication.
“If you pull it out, it grows back again,” he said.
“The Fiji police, with the assistance of New Zealand Police, are looking forward to using chemicals that once we pull it out, we spread the land with chemicals and it does not germinate again.
“We are working with our Ministry of Environment to ensure these chemicals do not affect the ecological system of the (land) or the province that we are engaged with.”
ACP Lutunauga said current operations on Kadavu were into the fourth wave or group of officers being deployed to destroy marijuana farms.
“One team comes out, another team goes in with the same number of about 30 officers camping in the jungle and looking for marijuana plants on Kadavu.
“And in the Northern Division, it’s into the third wave.”
Asked if the force would consider marijuana being used for medicinal purposes, ACP Lutunauga said they only enforced the law.
“I’d like to state we want to enforce the law. That is for the politicians and government to look at.”
