As Fiji awaits the sentencing of nine individuals convicted in the country’s largest drug bust, High Court judge Justice Aruna Aluthge has raised disturbing concerns about the possible involvement of local politicians.
In his ruling on July 31, Justice Aluthge said there was “alarming evidence” that the foreign drug cartel behind the 4.15-tonne, $2billion methamphetamine shipment was operating with “the blessings of local politicians”.
He didn’t state any names in his ruling.
“Despite the many challenges our law enforcement agencies face, this case proves they are still capable of tackling sophisticated drug cartels — cartels that were equipped with superyachts, satellite phones, encrypted messaging apps, and the blessings of local politicians,” Justice Aluthge stated in open court.
He credited law enforcement for securing convictions despite facing cartels armed with superyachts, satellite phones, and encrypted messaging apps.
He said the drug shipment likely originated from a Latin American country and was destined for Australia or New Zealand, where methamphetamine commands a high market price. Fiji, he noted, continues to be exploited as a transit point in the global narcotics trade.
“It was evident that a small quantity infiltrated the local market and was used by intermediaries to drug recruits to work as peddlers and couriers or mules.”
Justice Aluthge also confirmed evidence suggesting collaboration between a foreign cartel made up of Russians, Latinos, and Australians, and local Fijian counterparts.
However, he dismissed claims of a Russian mafia being behind the operation, calling it a defence tactic raised by the accused to justify their actions.
The judgment further exposed glaring failures in border control, pointing to how such a large consignment entered the country undetected via maritime routes.
“The undetected importation of such a huge consignment proves how weak our border protection mechanism was,” he said.