The Police investigation into alleged corrupt practices by eleven senior members of the Fiji Police Force, which surfaced through the circulation of screenshots of Viber exchanges has been completed.
The investigation was conducted with the assistance of the Australian Federal Police and New Zealand Police.
Police say to ensure transparency of the investigation process, the investigation file has been submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for independent legal advice.
Digital forensics capabilities and forensic accountants based at the Criminal Investigations Department, with the assistance of the Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit, had investigated the financial history of the implicated officers, based on the claims of officers receiving money from individuals involved in the illicit drug trade.
The investigation team was made of senior investigators, some of whom were called back from retirement, to specifically handle investigations against members of the organisation.
The team was given full autonomy in the conduct of investigation.
The Fiji Police Force will await independent legal advice from the ODPP, before commenting further.
In relation to allegations made by a former police officer of alleged links between members of the organisation and known persons of interests in the drug and criminal network, the case is now closed.
All attempts made to gather statements at a facility that was selected by the Australian Federal Police, out of respect for operating in a foreign jurisdiction, were in vain, and the senior investigator returned, unable to record a statement.
With regards to several persons of interest named by the former officer, a few already have pending cases in court charged with their alleged links to the drug trade, while others are subject of ongoing investigations.
The Fiji Police Force is requesting members of the public to understand the legal processes that govern law enforcement work, particularly in the conduct of investigations, which are multifaceted, and require multi-agency support, and cannot be completed overnight.
While investigations are not given a specific timeframe for completion, members of the public are assured that any reports against police are taken seriously.
We are in the process of getting comments from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
