Local Meth Production Rife

The Fiji Police Force has raised concerns about methamphetamine production in homes. Assistant Commissioner of Police operations (ACP) Livai Driu has called on the public to help identify locations where these drugs are being manufactured.

“Our people on the ground have told us that now people are beginning to manufacture their own methamphetamine at home,” ACP Driu said.

“This is dangerous because some of these people are not experts, and they are mixing harmful chemicals which are bound to affect members of the public who are consuming them,” he said.

ACP Driu said as Police continued the fight against illicit substances, this was the root of the problem that needed to be targeted.

Claims

Meanwhile, Drug Free Fiji founder Kalesi Volatabu claimed meth production locally had been ongoing since 2019.

“In 2019, when we were doing our research, and we were learning so much on the ground, we were talking to coastal communities, the Fiji Fire Authority and the Fiji Police Force, there were already stories of what was happening in there, in the communities, squatter settlements,” Ms Volatabu said.

“People have actually been cooking these substances in their homes,” she said.

“You go on YouTube, they have videos that teach you how to make them step by step. We had people being sent to the hospitals with third degree burns in the process of making meth. “Nowadays, the material for cooking these substances is readily available in shops.

You can easily purchase the ingredients for meth at any hardware shop or supermarket,” Ms Volatabu said.

In the islands

Police has called on the public to assist them in tracking down these producers.

Meanwhile, ACP Driu said drug raids and operations in remote islands continued to see the increasing cultivation of marijuana.

“We haven’t made any discovery of white substances in remote is-lands, but green drugs yes,” ACP Driu said.

“Drug operation is ongoing, all five divisions, it’s not only focused on Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, but it includes our maritime islands.

“When we carry out our operations in these areas, we make sure the same procedure is carried out. We carry out awareness programmes and campaigns in these areas and Police officers are stationed on Moala and Vanuabalavu, Lau.”

However, he said in the mainland, Police has noted an increase of 37 per cent in drug raids compared to the same period last year.

“It’s not getting out of hand be-cause we are receiving information about where the drugs are. We are making interesting arrests and raids. The number is likely to drop soon given the increasing price of these white substances.”

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