Fiji police investigate theft of cocaine evidence from courthouse, most replaced with flour

Authorities in Fiji are looking into how almost 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of cocaine kept as evidence for a significant drug trial was removed from a courthouse, with the bulk of it apparently exchanged for flour. The narcotics carried a value of 30 million Fijian dollars (about $13.3 million) and were confiscated in a 2019 matter involving Joshua Rahman, a Fiji-Canadian national. Official records show he was found guilty of unlawful possession. The seized drugs were held at the Suva High Court as appeals proceeded. During a September 15 inspection, police said, officials found that seven of 39 cocaine bars had disappeared. An inquiry later determined that the cocaine that remained had been substituted with fake material, leaving none of the original seized drug. In a Tuesday statement, police said forensic examinations of the remaining drug exhibits had all produced negative results. The statement said the exhibits had all been interfered with and that investigators were concentrating on individuals directly responsible for managing the exhibits at the High Court Registry. Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said Wednesday that the cocaine had been put in the High Court vault in March 2021, though the timing of the theft remains unknown. A prior test in 2019 confirmed the exhibits were cocaine. Tudravu told a news conference that police had named six persons of interest employed in the judiciary who could have accessed the vault, and one of them was overseas. Officers were also reviewing every other exhibit held by the court, including confiscated cash. The missing cocaine has prompted serious concerns about security within Fiji’s judicial system and drawn anger from citizens and legislators. “The replacement of the cocaine with flour, whatever it is, that is a sad indictment of … whoever is responsible,” opposition politician Jone Usamate said in Parliament. “How do you know now that what is in all those exhibits is really what is claimed to be in the exhibits?” Justice Minister Siromi Turaga said he was “disappointed” and shocked, adding that efforts were underway to improve security and reassess current protocols at the High Court.