Marijuana Cultivation on the Rise in Tailevu

The cultivation of marijuana in villages of Tailevu Province is on the rise.

And the importance of addressing this issue was emphasised by Divisional Police Commissioner Eastern, Josua Vodo during the Tailevu Provincial Council meeting.

“For Tailevu Province, crimes against women and children have decreased, but the increase we’ve witnessed is in drug-related incidents. Marijuana has been cultivated and sold in villages from January last year until today,” Mr Vodo said.

“We have a taskforce in place, and for the past two months, we have focused solely on addressing drug-related issues.

“We are seizing drugs and conducting raids on homes. We have implemented a proactive programme in which our community policing teams visit villages to discuss the repercussions, especially for children.”

Police Commissioner Eastern, Josua Vodo.

Mr Vodo thanked members of the public for providing tips about those cultivating marijuana.

“Crimes against women encompass any offences involving women, including sexual offences and violence,” he said.

“Of concern are the crimes against women involving assaults and what makes it worse is that the perpetrators are often family members, such as husbands or uncles, occurring within the family framework.”

Tailevu Provincial Council chairperson Rusiate Tudravu extended his appreciation to the district reps when he told them that the number of individuals incarcerated from the province had decreased.

He said there was a time when Tailevu Province had the highest number of individuals incarcerated compared to the 13 provinces.

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