9 tonnes of marijuana with a street value of $79 million was uprooted across the country, and 4.9kg of methamphetamine worth $2.4 million was seized by Police between March and May this year.
This was revealed by Acting Police Commissioner Aporosa Lutunauga during the Fijian Media Association's Meet the Public and the Press session held in Savusavu.
Lutunauga says that while police managed to locate and uproot marijuana farms, in most cases they could not identify the landowners.
He is now calling on the public to assist in identifying those behind the illegal operations.
He also confirmed that proceeds of crime were seized as part of ongoing investigations.
The Acting Commissioner urged villages to set up crime prevention committees in partnership with police to identify illegal selling of liquor.
ACP Lutunauga says he understands this is a dangerous situation, but we need to keep Fiji safe for the future of our generation, and we need to put these drugs at a stop right now.
ACP Lutunauga was responding to a concern by Savusavu resident Ulamila Toroki who raised concerns on what is happening in the village nowadays with drugs and liquor being abused.
She says before, drinking in the village was forbidden and now, people are drinking from Saturday and throughout Sunday and are disturbing Sunday services.
Toroki is concerned that she came back to Fiji after being away for more than 20 years and has seen such activities being practiced by our people.
Click here for more stories from the FMA meet the public and press sessions in Savusavu and Labasa
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