FCS warns families over drug smuggling into correctional facilities

Family members who smuggle drugs into Fiji's correctional facilities are making the rehabilitation of their loved ones harder, and the Fiji Corrections Service (FCS) wants it to stop.

Acting Commissioner Auta Moceisuva issued a direct warning yesterday, saying drug smuggling by visitors was one of the biggest daily challenges facing the service.

"We have to cut off the supply. And when we cut the supply, they become very agitated inside because they haven't been weaned out properly to manage their drug habits," he said.

Inmates and their visitors have developed increasingly creative methods to conceal contraband.

Drugs have been found hidden in toothpaste tubes, flip-flops, food, and water.

Packages have also been thrown over prison walls from outside. In one previously reported case, drugs were concealed in a baby's diaper during a family visit.

Mr Moceisuva said the FCS currently relies on sniffer dogs and officer vigilance to intercept contraband, but lacked the technology, such as full body X-ray scanners, to detect all methods of concealment. Discussions on acquiring such equipment were ongoing.

"Every day we have to be in this situation. We are not being complacent because we know that the demand is there," he said.

National Drug Rehabilitation Center

To address drug addiction among inmates at its root, the FCS has submitted plans to build a dedicated drug rehabilitation centre at Naboro — the first of its kind under a government agency.

The facility would be staffed by doctors, counsellors, and psychologists, with security provided by corrections officers.

The FCS is also working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to help fund and develop the centre.