Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua says the disappearance of cocaine exhibits that were kept in the custody of the Suva High Court is a very serious issue.
fijivillage News was alerted that cocaine from the case involving Joshua Aziz Rahman was allegedly missing from the Suva Court House.
We then sought clarification from Police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Office of the DPP informed us that it was not aware of the allegations, but advised that we check with Police, as they are responsible for exhibits, including the storage and security of drugs.
We were told last Monday that the drugs were not missing.
However, Assistant Commissioner of Police Crime Loraini Seru says a physical check of the exhibits was conducted on Tuesday in the presence of senior judiciary officials, a senior official from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Police, and an officer from Crime Scene Investigations, who documented the inspection process.
Naivalurua says the issue now is to find ways and means, or put a system in place, to ensure that this does not happen again.
Meanwhile, Minister for Justice and Acting Attorney General Siromi Turaga has given an assurance that a thorough, rigorous and completely independent criminal investigation has been initiated by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Fiji Police Force to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the disappearance of seven bars of cocaine from the Suva Court House exhibit room.
Turaga says he is deeply concerned by the reported tampering with and disappearance of cocaine exhibits.
As the Minister responsible for the administration of justice and upholding the rule of law, he says his absolute priority is ensuring that State systems are anchored in unwavering governance, strict accountability and proper statutory processes.
The Minister says he will not be directly involved in the operational timeline or specific directions of the inquiry.
However, he says his ministerial oversight is focused squarely on ensuring that the independent investigative bodies are fully resourced and completely unhindered, and that the robust legal processes governing evidence custody are upheld without fear or favour.
The Acting Attorney General says the proper handling, security and management of exhibits held by the courts are sacred institutional responsibilities, and any failure to adhere to established protocols must be treated with the utmost seriousness.
He says the public is entirely entitled to demand transparency and answers on a matter of such profound public interest.
