Justice Aruna Aluthge told Ratu Osea Levula “he had no influence over higher-ups in the chain” while sentencing him to to 17 years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 13 years for his role in possessing and handling 4.1 tonnes of high-purity methamphetamine.
30 year old Mr Levula is unemployed father of five from Legalega and was convicted on Count 8 for unlawful possession of the methamphetamine consignment at a house he occupied with co-accused Cathy Tuirabe.
The court found that Mr Levula, operating under the codename “Bro-Bro,” knowingly guarded the property under the direction of Sakiusa Tuva, a mid-level operative in the syndicate, and assisted in loading containers.
Despite his involvement, Justice Aluthge classified Mr Levula’s role as “lesser culpability,” noting he was paid only $100–$200 and had no influence over higher-ups in the chain or full awareness of the operation’s massive scale.
“You occupied the house at Legalega with Cathy Tuirabe with the knowledge and intention to possess the methamphetamine consignment,” Justice Aluthge stated in his judgment.
“You operated under Bro-Bro codename and guarded the house under the direction of Sakiusa Tuva. You also assisted in loading the containers.”
“You were paid only $100–$200. You expected no financial gain other than that. You had no influence on those above in the chain and had little awareness of the scale of operation.”
The judge selected a starting point of 20 years’ imprisonment.
Mitigating factors included Mr Levula’s age, family responsibilities, extreme poverty that led him to join his college friend Mr Tuva for a living, partial completion of studies in Information Technology at Fiji National University (FNU), and cooperation with police investigations.
However, aggravating elements were his three prior convictions, two of which were drug-related.
Accounting for 7 months in remand and deducting 3 years for mitigation and the remand period, the final sentence was set at 17 years.
“To balance your rehabilitation potential with other sentencing purposes, especially deterrence, I impose a non-parole period of 13 years,” Justice Aluthge ruled.