Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu has sought assistance from the Australian Federal Police and New Zealand Police to investigate recent drug allegations against senior officers.
Mr Tudravu made the statement yesterday during the 27th Attorney-General’s Conference at the Sheraton Fiji Golf Resort and Spa in Nadi.
Addressing the allegations and viral social media screenshots of Viber exchanges, Mr Tudravu said he had been asked if he was serious about removing officers involved in the drug trade.
”The answer, as always, is an affirmative yes and we are doing that, regarding the specific claims against senior officers,”he said.
“In fact, regarding the latest allegations against senior officers, we have sought assistance from the Australian Federal Police and the New Zealand Police.”
Mr Tudravu indicated that the source of the information is from overseas.
“Just to let you know that the source of this information is coming from overseas and that we are going there. We want to know the truth about this.
“We want to go further and see who is behind the keyboard giving this information.”
Mr Tudravu confirmed that the investigation is active and being handled by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and Police Headquarters.
”In fact, regarding the latest allegations against senior officers, the extent to which our investigations against the police officers who are involved in drugs. Our CID, our pet headquarters, are handling the investigation and we managed to identify the source of the messages.”
Mr Tudravu said the officers named in the Viber messages have had their mobile phones seized and they are currently under analysis.
“I want to round up people that are making comments from overseas and I respect the rights of every person in the country and also our citizens that are living abroad but remember, very detrimental, if these things are false.
“You cannot get back what trauma our officers went through.
“I would like to direct a very serious investigation into this. We recognise that if there is corruption within, where officers are easily corrupted, as the drug trade is continuous, we will continue to be the biggest obstacle in this effort.”
