The Fiji Police Force celebrat­ed Fiji Transnational Crime Unit’s (TCU) 15 years in ex­istence on Friday at their Officers’ Mess in Suva.

Deputy Commissioner Isikeli Ligairi said he wished to extend their deepest gratitude to the gov­ernment of Australia, and the Aus­tralian Federal Police (AFP) for remaining a faithful ally to the Fiji Police Force and the Fiji Revenue and Customs Services.

The unit was established in 2002 and since then the ability to protect Fijians and visitors has strength­ened.

“From the interception and ar­rests of those involved in human smuggling and human traffick­ing, the protection of our borders as transit points to smuggle hard drugs, to the discovery and dis­mantling of what was the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest methamphet­amine laboratory in 2004, we cer­tainly have a lot to celebrate today,” Mr Ligairi said.

“Our affiliation has also been felt right across the region with the Fiji unit hosting training opportunities for our neighbours Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Kiribati, enabling them to set-up their respective national units.”

The Australian Federal Police liai­son officer to Fiji, Richard Briggs, said they have had a long friend­ship and partnership with the Fiji Police Force and he felt fortunate to continue his tenure as the Police liaison officer based in Fiji.

Twenty-four Police officers re­ceived certificates of appreciation in recognition for the joint opera­tion by the Fiji and her Austral­ian counterpart working together during the course of Operations Mussel/ Okesi and Operations Tai/ Armour.

Mr Briggs highlighted that in 2014 Operation Mussel led to the seizure of 30 kilogrammes of heroin at the­Lautoka Wharf and the arrest of two people in Fiji. Fiji Police Force

Edited by Naisa Koroi