Australia to help Fiji trace origin of washed-up drug parcels

The Fiji Police Force is working with its Australian counterparts to forensically profile drug-filled parcels that have washed ashore in Fiji in an effort to identify their country of origin and strengthen investigations into the trafficking network behind the shipment.

Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said the profiling was a critical part of the investigation after preliminary tests confirmed some of the seized parcels contained illicit drugs.

“It is already in custody in Suva. A few have tested positive,” he said.

Mr Tudravu said the next step was to determine where the drugs originated.

“What we are trying to do is send a sample to the Australian Federal Police laboratory. They have a database that can profile the samples and identify the source of where these parcels came from. That’s very important for us in terms of the investigation. Once we have that, we will investigate further.”

He said the Fiji Police Force was also working with Australian and New Zealand law enforcement counterparts based in South America to assist the investigation if the drugs were confirmed to have originated from that region.

Earlier this month, Police reported that more than 20 parcels had been recovered and transported to Suva, while another 35 parcels were found on Munia Island.

Police also confirmed that one parcel recovered in Kadavu and another in Beqa had tested positive for cocaine.