The High Court heard yesterday that a late brother of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama was well known to police for transporting drugs, but not as a police informant.
This was the testimony of Inspector Penieli Ratei in the ongoing trial of former prime minister Frank Bainimarama and former commissioner of police Sitiveni Qiliho.
Mr Ratei was sacked in August 2021 for taking a picture of Jonacani Bainimarama and instructing Constable Tomasi Naulu to upload it on a police Viber chat group after Jonacani was found with a black bag of dried leaves suspected to be marijuana.
Mr Ratei said the Viber groups had been in existence since 2017 and used to disseminate information on activities conducted on the ground by police officers.
He said it was also used by senior officers to monitor the activities of other police officers.
Mr Ratei told the court that in April 2021, during a COVID-19 lockdown period, he received information from the Narcotics Bureau that a taxi carrying drugs was parked at the Delainavesi bridge.
Upon arriving at the scene, he and other officers searched the vehicle and its driver, Jonacani, and found a black bag with dried leaves. He said this was their first encounter and did not know at this point that he was the then PM’s brother.
He said Jonacani told him he was transporting drugs to someone waiting at the Delainavesi border of a COVID restriction zone.
They then travelled in their respective vehicles to the border, where Mr Ratei found the Narcotics Bureau team waiting. Mr Ratei said he received further information that Jonacani had been in the business of transporting drugs for a long time.
The following month Mr Ratei said he pulled over Jonacani’s car because he remembered him from the last search, and took a picture after informing the man.
He said profiling pictures was a normal procedure and practice of the force, even though the defence said it was unlawful under section 18 of the Police Act 1965.
Mr Ratei said he was never informed that Jonacani was a police informant and he shared his picture on the police Viber groups.
He said it was wrong for him to be charged on May 22, 2021, and disciplined by a tribunal because it was a normal procedure to take pictures as the whole police force was doing it.
Mr Ratei and Constable Naulu were disciplined by a police tribunal, which recommended that the former be fined five days’ pay and given a warning letter while Constable Naulu be fined two days’ pay and given a final warning letter.
However, they lost their jobs on August 18 after Mr Qiliho, on his return to work, overturned the recommendation, which had been endorsed by acting commissioner Rusiate Tudravu. Both men gave evidence that they suffered financial problems after being unemployed for almost two years. In their testimonies before the court, they said that they believed they had not committed any wrongdoing since capturing images was and has been a standard part of their procedures.
Mr Ratei said while Qiliho later made an offer of reinstatement, the duo refused because they feared victimisation. However, they accepted reinstatement in 2023 after Qiliho was suspended and Juki Fong Chew was appointed acting commissioner.
The trial continues next Tuesday.