Australian national jailed 21 years over cocaine possession
Court notes accused came to Fiji for a holiday but chose to engage in illegal activity
Monday 17 August 2026 | 13:00
Updated 17 August 2026 | 14:23 FJT
Australian citizen Bainivalu Sauturaga escorted by a police officer.
Photo: Waisea Nasokia
Australian citizen Bainivalu Sauturaga has been sentenced to 21 years and three months’ imprisonment by the High Court in Lautoka for unlawful possession of illicit drugs.
Justice Sunil Sharma delivered the sentence on July 29 after finding Sauturaga guilty of two counts of unlawful possession of illicit drugs.
Sauturaga was initially found with 7.937 grams of cocaine at a cemetery in Saweni.
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He was intoxicated when he was approached by two police officers conducting patrols around the Saweni beach area in Lautoka.
Police found a clear plastic bag containing a white substance, which Sauturaga identified as cocaine.
The substance was sent to the Fiji Police Forensic Chemistry Laboratory for testing and returned a positive result for cocaine, weighing 7.937 grams.
Police also found a room key in Sauturaga’s twin-cab vehicle.
On February 27, 2024, as investigations continued, police used the room key, with the assistance and in the presence of Sauturaga, to open and search Room 6 at Sadiq’s Apartment, which was occupied by him. Police seized a package from a bag inside the room.
The package was sent to the Forensic Chemistry Laboratory for testing and returned a positive result for cocaine, weighing 1.02 kilograms.
Justice Sharma noted that Sauturaga was an Australian citizen who had entered Fiji for a holiday but chose to engage in illegal activity, demonstrating what the court described as boldness and disregard for the law and order of the country.
Sauturaga is also charged alongside nine others in relation to the Vatia drug case, involving the alleged unlawful importation of 2,644.5 kilograms of cocaine into Fiji.
Justice Sharma imposed an aggregate sentence of 21 years and three months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 17 years.
Sauturaga must serve the 17-year non-parole period before he becomes eligible for parole.
The State was represented by State prosecutor Laisiasa Baleilevuka, while Sauturaga was represented by lawyers from Daveta Law.
