THE Fiji Police Force cannot win the fight against drugs without the support of communities, says Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Meliki Sateki.
Speaking during a Fiji Media Association Town Hall meeting in Korovou, Tailevu, last Friday, ACP Sateki said police were carrying out both enforcement operations and public awareness campaigns to curb the spread of illicit drugs.
“Operationally what the police has been doing, we’re dividing our focus in our war against drugs on two streets,” he said.
“One is proactive, on which we are attending to requests for awareness and the other one is attending to informations that are coming through from community.”
ACP Sateki said one of the biggest challenges investigators faced was securing sufficient evidence for prosecution.
“We all know any drugs cases will have to be presented in court – we cannot take to court cases that are incomplete. We need to satisfy all the ingredients.”
He called on traditional leaders, churches and residents to play a greater role in reporting suspected drug activity.
“May I use this opportunity to ask for the assistance of the vanua, the lotu, the neighbourhood villages. That’s key to our war against drugs.”
He assured the public that police remained committed to tackling the drug trade and would investigate every credible report received.
“We continue to assure that we will look at the drug issue and we will attend to any report of cases that are reported to us in regard to drugs.”
He reminded the public that the Police 1681 call centre operates 24 hours a day and encouraged anyone dissatisfied with the handling of a report at station level to escalate the matter through the service.
