New police posts target drugs and crime in the North

Two new police posts are being constructed in the Northern Division to enhance police visibility and respond to concerns about drugs, crime and violence.

The Fiji Police Force, in collaboration with the Ministry of Policing, is constructing the posts at Daria in Vanua Levu and Vuna on Taveuni.

Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua confirmed exclusively to this masthead that 80 per cent of construction work had been completed at the Vuna Police Post.

Mr Naivalurua said the post would be officially opened soon.

The projects were undertaken following requests from the respective communities to address concerns about marijuana cultivation, illicit drugs and increasing violence.

Duavata Northern Crime Prevention Committee chairperson Satish Kumar supported the increased police presence across the division in the fight against criminal activities.

Mr Kumar said the fight against illicit drugs remains imperative to ensure communities are safe from destruction and the decay of moral values.

He also called for a drug rehabilitation centre to be established in the division to help those affected by drugs recover and reintegrate into their communities.

"Drug dealers and traffickers should not be spared by police or the law," Mr Kumar said.

He supported calls for the death penalty to be imposed on those found guilty of the crime.

However, he said individuals who consumed drugs or were new to the practice should be given a second chance through rehabilitation.

He reiterated the need to enhance community policing, with each village aware of its role in the fight against drugs.

"Every stakeholder in the North had to play its part, whether village headmen, landowning units, church pastors or Police to combat illicit drugs", he said.