There is no abduction or human trafficking ring where a group of men are abducting young girls and children - Qiliho

Police Commissioner Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho has reassured Fijians that there is no abduction or human trafficking ring where a group of men are abducting young girls and children.

Qiliho says contrary to the popular narrative on social media and aspiring politicians claims that young girls reported missing were being trafficked and forced into sexual and other forms of hard labour, they have yet to link any of the missing persons reports to such illegal activities.

He also reiterates and has assured Fijians that if there was a crime trend that is a threat to the general populace, Police will issue a public advisory to alert members of the public to take necessary precautions.

Police are also urging social media users to be responsible and in particular those in positions of influence and standing in our communities to be responsible in sharing unsubstantiated information as it will create unnecessary panic.

They also corrected the misconceptions on social media regarding the high number of missing person cases that are supposedly linked to the abduction of young girls and human trafficking, saying that is false and should not be taken seriously.

Police say statistics of missing persons since 2019 show pending reports that remain open and most are cases of those reported to be missing at sea.

They say this year, there are 10 pending cases, which include 2 missing on the high seas and 6 pending reports of missing persons for September and October.

They say in 2019 there were six pending reports of missing persons where five are reports of missing at sea and a case of a 3-year-old child who was reported missing from Kalekana.

In 2020 there is a pending case of missing at sea and a case involving a 31-year-old woman reported missing at the Tavua Police Station in 2021, four cases of missing on the high seas and a case of a 7-year-old child reported missing in Taveuni.

Police say there have been a high number of youths and juveniles reported missing throughout these years, but as per the statistics, they have returned home.

They say to put things into perspective, police record an average of 20 to 30 cases of missing persons a month.

From the 1st of September to the 8th of October, 25 missing person cases were closed as those reported who were mostly aged between 16 and 25 years had returned home after they were found at friends' or relative's places.