How the $2 billion meth reached Nadi

The country’s geographic loca­tion, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, makes it an ideal hub for overseas-based cartels and syndi­cates to transit illicit drugs across to Australia and New Zealand.

Also, because cartels have estab­lished networks across the Pacific, especially Fiji and Tonga.

Police and transnational crime experts say the drug syndicates in­volved both locally and abroad are a concern and they expect their tactics and undue influence to in­crease as authorities crack down on illegal activity.

But Fiji is more than just a transit­ing hub, where we receive the over­flow of the illicit shipment of drugs.

Locals are now producing meth­amphetamine, commonly known as meth or ice, to sell and make quick money.

Police have raided homes where apparatus used for cooking meth were seized. There are hotspots, known to Police, where the use of meth is rife.

In July this year, Police seized con­signment of apparatus from Can­ada at a warehouse in Nadi. The consignment would’ve been used to produce illicit drugs.

Police are aware of two existing criminal syndicates that cook their own meth, while also receiving il­licit drugs from overseas. The third known syndicate only receives shipments.

Police have not identified the loca­tions of where the meth is cooked, however, work is underway to pro­file and expose these syndicates and those who operate them.

The two cartels have been in Fiji for more than 10 years – precisely 16 years and 10 years respectively.
How have they thrived for this long in Fiji? Transnational crime expert for the Pacific and Southeast Asia, Jose Sousa-Santos insists that peo­ple in high places are also involved.

“Normally, the commercial elites in Government and law enforce­ments are the ones that facilitate the movement of these drugs, al­lowing the drugs to have this fallout in communities in Fiji,” he said.

As a continuation from the first Shine a Light article on the meth problem in Fiji published last week­end, we analyse the transshipment of large quantities of meth, the sale and use of this drug in Fiji, and who are involved.

We also reference in detail how the 4.15 tonnes of meth that was seized in Nadi made its way to Viti Levu.

TRANSIT ROUTE
The Pacific is a key transit route for drugs trafficked from South America and Southeast Asia to the Australia and New Zealand mar­kets.

Meth produced by Southeast Asia syndicates transit through the Pa­cific, and Fiji is the preferred point because of its position as the hub of the region, its large population and economy.

Meth produced in Mexico or co­caine from South America take a slightly different route. These drugs enter different trafficking routes to­wards Fiji and Tonga, before reach­ing Australia and New Zealand.

“What happens is there are many different methods that they use and what we need to look at is: what tactics are used in Southeast Asia, South America and the United States,” Mr Sousa-Santos said.

“What [cartels] are doing is not new. They’re just contextualizing it to flt in the Pacific.”

Mr Sousa-Santos emphasized the need for the Fiji Revenue and Cus­toms Authority to detect drugs that are repackaged into other goods and exported overseas.

MOVEMENT OF DRUGS 

Established networks of cartels across the Pacific, especially in Fiji and Tonga, allow for large quan­tities of illicit drugs to be tran­shi pped across to Australia and New Zealand undetected.

Grid coordinates and satellite phones are used to identify the pickup points, which are normally outside of Fiji’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) – out of local maritime surveillance.

Drug traffickers smuggle illicit drugs by air and sea and even through human carriers.

Our investigations suggest that the primary method used are yachts, boats and small crafts that offload large amounts of meth within Fiji’s EEZ or beyond.

These shipments can then be picked up and transported to an­other destination undetected.

Once it reaches Fiji’s shores, there are local networks comprising sex workers, high risk criminals, mid­tier operatives, and young oppor­tunists, who are referred to as “foot soldiers”, created by larger crimi­nal syndicates to facilitate their il­legal activities.

“Once [drugs] gets to Fiji, it’s then able to be broken up or even stored, as we saw with the Nadi drug sei­zures,” Mr Sousa-Santos said.

NADI DRUG BUSTS 

The drug raids in Nadi indicate why the illicit drug network in Fiji is complex.

The 4.15 tonnes of meth came in a hired barge that berthed at one of the renowned marinas in Nadi on the early morning of December 23, last year.

Planning was done months before the drugs entered Fiji’s borders. On December 14, 2023, an unidentified Caucasian man was already ana­lysing how deep the waters of the said marina. And already, another unidentified Caucasian man was booked into a hotel at the particu­lar marina.

Before the sealed drugs reached Fiji, a white superyacht approxi­mately 64ft in length with no name, but a Fiji flag, was berthed outside of the Yasawa waters.

Inside the yacht were three uni­dentified Caucasian men – two spoke the same language. It seems the three had sailed for months and their stop was the Fiji waters.

Three trips were made in Decem­ber to pick the drugs from the su­peryacht.

The first was on December 20, 2023, six people (names withheld) left a different marina in Nadi in the hired barge with gallons of fuel.

Upon reaching the Yasawa waters, there was no superyacht in sight because of a miscommunication regarding the grid coordinates of where the superyacht was. The six men then returned to the marina.

On December 21, around 10am, they had set out again after recon­firming the coordinates of the pick­up point.

This time, they went towards the Malolo waters, but still no su­peryacht was visible. They later returned but booked rooms at an island resort for the night.

On December 22, 2023, the six men left the island resort and returned reaching the marina around 9am.
Later the same morning, after suc­cessful communication with the men on board the yacht, four people (names withheld) set out again in the barge, one of whom was one of the unidentified Caucasian men.

He used a satellite phone and was helping the barge captain navigate their way until they reached the su­peryacht that was berthed beyond Fiji’s EEZ around 6pm the same day.

The four offloaded 40 gallons of fuel into the superyacht and started stacking the sealed containers of drugs into the barge. They left the yacht around 8pm, reaching the marina around 6am on December 23.

Upon reaching the marina, the sealed drugs were loaded into large recycling bags – totalling about 16 bags. Some of the sealed contain­ers of drugs were wet and slightly opened because of the seawater.

These bags were transported to a workshop in Denarau belonging to a local businessman (name with­held).

The movement of drugs within Nadi happened in late December and early January, involving ‘mid­tier operatives’ and some ‘foot sol­diers’ who became involved know­ingly and some unknowingly.

Drugs were transported using rental cars, trucks, and pickup vans. Local networks used a differ­ent type of phone app for commu­nication.

The drugs were divided, some re­packaged into kava packets. The result was the seizure of 3.1 tons of meth from a vacant house in Le­galega, and 1.05 tons from an apart­ment rented by the local networks in Maqalevu.

SEPARATE TRIP
Another trip was made to the su­peryacht on December 24, a day af­ter the drugs reached Nadi.

This time the two unidentified Caucasian men and a local, who was not aware of what had tran­spired went.

The three boarded a hired fibre­glass boat from one of the marinas carrying gallons of fuel.

The superyacht was still berthed at the same location with the three unidentified Caucasian men on­board.

They slept in the yacht and re­turned to the same marina the next morning. On December 25, only thelocal made the trip to the yacht tak­ing with him 36 gallons of fuel.

He made another trip on Decem­ber 26 to take a few more gallons of fuel. He returned with three gar­bage bags full of rubbish and three big empty recycling bags.

On December 27, the local was in­structed by one of the unidentified Caucasian men at the marina to re­turn the three big empty recycling bags to the yacht, which he did.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE
Communication for the shipment of the drugs between the master­minds and local mid-tier operatives began months before the shipment.

The vacant house in Legalega was already prepared to house the 3.1 tonnes of meth, with different peo­ple visiting the house months be­fore the shipment.

In Maqalevu, a rent of more than $2000 per month was paid to the landlord, who did not know that drugs were being kept in the apart­ment. Hotels in Nadi were used by some of the local networks, some booking in their family members.

Most of the locals who were invalved were businesspeople based in Nadi – a few unknowingly took part in the shipment and transpor­tation of the drugs from the high seas to Nadi and on land.

Those involved were either busi­ness friends, family associates or shared mutual friends.

HIERARCHY
Mr Sousa-Santos said the lo­cal “gangs” that end up control­ling prostitution, human traffick­ing, working with Chinese triads, Southeast Asian syndicate, and car­tels were foot soldiers.

“These are the ones you hear about … the horrible violence, which is perpetrated on other addicts, and they all link up to people very high up … who are the untouchables,” he said.

Mr Sousa-Santos

Mr Sousa-Santos said following the Nadi drug busts, only mid­tier operatives were arrested and charged.

“There were none of the players who would’ve been able to facilitate and control the movement of such a large amount of meth. We’re talk­ing about billions of dollars. We’re talking about very serious people in various high places.

“If you notice there were only mid­tier operatives who were arrested and charged.

“There were none of the players who would’ve been able to facilitate and control the movement of such a large amount of meth.”

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*This is the second part of a 6-part series. This project is supported by Internews Transparent Pacific.*