More than 3000 marijuana plants have been found in the highlands of Navosa.

A joint Police and Military operation was involved in the drug raid. No street value has been put on the find.

The operation is called “Operation Cavuraka” consisting of 50 officers, and the mission – to track down those cultivating the illegal drug.

Fiji Sun has established that such joint operations have been ongoing for some time now and it seems to be working.

The marijuana plants uprooted were standing between two centimetres to over a metre in height.

Fiji Police Chief of Intelligence and Investigations Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Luke Navela said they were accompanied by a Government analyst so that tests were conducted at the farms before the plants were destroyed.

“The three farms were empty, but we’ll apprehend those responsible, charge them and take them to court,” ACP Navela  said yesterday.

The operation teams had to trek for hours through the unforgiving rugged terrains, steep mountains and even spent the night up in the hills.

The team will be in the highlands over the next few days with a mission to locate more drug farms and destroy them.

ACP Navela said the operation would also focus on other aspects.

CID officers are also with the team and they will look at the proceeds of crime aspects because they will need to send the message that selling illegal drugs is not the only means of earning a living.

“We need to tackle this problem head on, destroy the plants and cut out the supply chain,” ACP Navela said.

A team from the Police K-9 dog unit is also part of ‘Operation Cavuraka’.

The operation team is expecting to find more illegal drug farms as they continue with the mission.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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