Police in Fiji are investigating after nearly 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of cocaine stored as evidence for a major drug trial were stolen from a courthouse, with most swapped out for flour.
The cocaine, worth 30 million Fijian dollars ($13.3 million), had been seized in a 2019 case involving Fiji-Canadian national Joshua Rahman. He was convicted of unlawful possession, according to official records.
The confiscated drugs remained stored at the Suva High Court while appeals were heard, but during an inspection on September 15, officials discovered that seven out of 39 cocaine bars were missing, police said.
Following an investigation, it was discovered that the remaining cocaine had been replaced with counterfeit substances, with none of the originally seized cocaine left.
“Forensic tests conducted on the remaining drug exhibits have all returned negative,” police said in a statement on Tuesday. “The exhibits were all tampered with, and the investigation is focused on those directly charged with the management of the exhibits at the High Court Registry.”
Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said Wednesday that the cocaine was placed in the High Court vault in March 2021, but it’s not clear when the theft happened. The exhibits were confirmed to have been cocaine in a previous test in 2019.
Police identified six persons of interest who work in the judiciary department and would have had access to the vault, and one of those people was currently out of the country, Tudravu said during a news conference. Officers were now double-checking all other exhibits in the court, including seized cash.
The cocaine theft has raised serious questions about security in the country’s judicial system and prompted outrage from the public and lawmakers.
“The replacement of the cocaine with flour, whatever it is, that is a sad indictment of … whoever is responsible,” said opposition politician Jone Usamate, speaking in Parliament. “How do you know now that what is in all those exhibits is really what is claimed to be in the exhibits?”
Justice Minister Siromi Turaga expressed his “disappointment” and shock, adding that authorities were now working to upgrade security and review existing protocols at the High Court.
