Police urge public to report drug activities

The Fiji Police Force is calling on members of the public who have information about unreported or unknown criminal activities to come forward and share their findings.

Divisional Police Commander (DPC) North, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kemueli Baledrokadroka said this after a member of public in Labasa claimed Labasa Market is a hotspot for illicit drugs peddling.

The whistleblower claimed he had been observing the market premises the past three months and noticed a steady increase in drug peddlers operating in the market.

“There are common drug peddlers which the people and police are aware of, yet some police officers do not take action to mitigate this issue,” he claimed.

He claims he had called the Labasa Market Police Post on September 27 to share information about drug peddling to officers to increase their presence.

“However, I was told by the officer attending the call that police were not aware of such happenings,” he said.

He claimed the drug peddlers were located near the entrance of the market from the bus terminal side.

The Labasa Town council has multiple closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at the market.

The whistleblower claimed to have evidence of some peddlers trying to tamper the CCTV camera by placing chewing gums on its recording device.

“I have screenshot pictures of a man trying to tamper the CCTV which I managed to retrieve,” he said.

Labasa Vendor and Farmer’s Association vice-president Waisea Makulau is encouraging vendors to avoid any involvement in the illicit drug trade.

Council special administrator chairperson, Paul Jaduram, said illicit drug sales in the market remains an ongoing issue faced by the council.

In collaboration with the police, officers must be neutral to the task and conduct their duties diligently.

Mr Jaduram stressed to vendors to focus on increasing their produce to sell to increase the profits and not to make profits in a short-time through illegal means.

Police

Divisional Police Commander (DPC) North, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kemueli Baledrokadroka is open to dialogue with the whistleblowers.

“I just wish that the said whistleblower comes to me with his claims and evidence to help police conduct targeted raids,” he reiterated.

SSP Baledrokadroka added they will continue conducting raids in and around Labasa along with other parts of Vanua Levu.

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