Primary schools targeted as children used as drug mules

Drug use has crept into Fiji's primary schools, and the Government says it can no longer stay silent.

Permanent Secretary for Justice and Women, Children and Social Protection Selina Kuruleca sounded the alarm on Tuesday at the launch of a Japan-funded drug prevention project in Suva, warning that the problem had gone beyond secondary schools and was now touching the youngest learners.

"With the rise of methamphetamine and the worrying trend of drug use reaching our primary schools, we can no longer remain silent," Ms Kuruleca said.

Methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, is a highly addictive illegal drug that has flooded Fiji in recent years. In early 2024, authorities intercepted nearly five tonnes of the drug — one of the largest seizures in the Pacific.

Beyond use, authorities are also concerned about children being exploited as drug mules — a term used when people, including children, are used to carry or deliver drugs without fully understanding the consequences, or under pressure from adults.

UNICEF Pacific's Chief of Child Protection Michael Copland said the exploitation of young people in drug networks was a growing concern.

"Sometimes they've been taken advantage of and exploited, being used in drug-related activities — sometimes carrying and selling drugs, the so-called drug-mule phenomenon," Mr Copland said.

Ms Kuruleca said the statistics were not just numbers.

"They are the cases of our children, our nephews, our nieces," she said.

The four-year project, funded by Japan, aims to build child-friendly safe spaces, strengthen community support and train frontline workers to identify and help vulnerable children before the situation worsens.

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