Police officer among weekend drunk-driving arrests

A police officer from Nadi was among 10 drivers arrested for drunk driving during weekend operations.

The officer was arrested on Saturday night during the Random Breath Test (RBT) operations conducted along the Nadi to Namaka corridor.

This marks the second police officer arrested during the three-day operation, following an arrest of a Lautoka officer on Thursday night.

The weekend operations saw increased testing with 801 drivers breath tested across the Nadi and Suva areas.

On Saturday night, nine drivers including the Nadi officer were arrested from 351 tests conducted in the Nadi-Namaka corridor.

Thirteen drivers were initially tested but released after final results showed they were below the prescribed limit.

In Suva, one driver was arrested from 450 tests conducted, with three others tested and released.

The arrests bring the three-day total to 24 drivers caught drunk driving since operations began on Thursday.

Random Breath Tests allow officers to test any driver without reasonable suspicion, aimed at detecting and deterring impaired driving.

The operations targeted high-traffic corridors during weekend hours when drunk driving incidents typically increase.

Previous night’s arrests on Friday included 14 drivers, among them five provisional license holders, three PSV drivers, and a 17-year-old student.

The Traffic Enforcement Unit from Police Headquarters conducted the coordinated operations across both divisions.