FIJI Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry says two recent drug importation cases against officers of the newly-established Counter Narcotics Bureau show deep problems in the top law enforcement ranks.
He said the bureau, established under the Coalition Government, was already mired in controversy.
In May this year, two officers of the bureau were charged in connection with the unlawful importation of methamphetamine. Yesterday, two other officers appeared in the Suva Magistrates Court on allegations that they were intercepted in a rental vehicle soon after collecting liquid methamphetamine from a Suva courier company. Two other men are currently in police custody for their alleged involvement in this drug case.
“Now, once again, its own officers have been arrested for direct involvement in the trafficking and transport of drugs,” Mr Chaudhry said.
“This is not the first time — this is the second such exposure of systemic failure under the Prime Minister’s leadership.
“The very fact that the drugs were brazenly brought in through normal channels (in both cases) shows how deeply rooted the problem is.
“It must be thoroughly investigated because it is obvious that others in the system were also involved, ” Mr Chaudhry claimed.
He said the PM’s weekend decision to abolish the Counter Narcotics Bureau and revert drug cases to the Police Department was questionable as police officers were known to be actively involved in the drug trade themselves.
“Prime Minister Rabuka says he is ’embarrassed and very very angry’ at the exposure that officials of the very unit meant to crackdown on drugs, were themselves involved.”
He said FLP believed Mr Rabuka must take a fair share of the blame for the decadence and depravity that was fast becoming a societal norm.
“It is hypocritical to speak of anger or embarrassment at such exposures, when he himself is seen to be reluctant to move against those in his government known to be involved in serious breaches of the rule of law.
“What message is the Prime Minister sending to the nation?
Mr Chaudhry also criticised the Prime Minister for his “inaction” in the COI case. “The authorities have still not acted on the recommendations of the report except in the case of Barbara Malimali, the former FICAC commissioner and former attorney-general Graham Leung.”
Mr Chaudhry said Mr Rabuka needed to realise that defying the rule of law and flouting public norms of behaviour and the ministerial code of conduct sent out wrong signals.
Attempts to obtain comments from the Prime Minister were futile.
