Bullets ‘Not Linked’ To Earlier Discovery
Police have confirmed that ammunition found last week on the roadside in Lautoka belonging to the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) is of a different calibre from the one found last year.
The confirmation came from Police Commissioner Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho yesterday as well as RFMF chief of staff, Brigadier-General Ro Jone Kalouniwai. Last Friday at Navula Road Junction in Lautoka, a 54-year-old man found a garbage bag containing a green pouch with 1 x 30 rounds and two loose calibre 5.56mm bullets and reported the matter to Police.
Last year in January, Police raided three businesses and the home of a businessman after the discovery of ammunition on a sinking boat at Vuda Marina, Lautoka.
It was believed that the bullets that were found last year were for M16 rifles, but it could not be determined how many packets were found in the bag.
Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro said they were working with the RFMF in Lautoka and received confirmation from them that the ammunition belonged to RFMF. “We have established that there is no link whatsoever to the earlier ammunition discovery in Lautoka, which some people are speculating,” Ms Naisoro said.
Brigadier-General Qiliho said the Fiji Police Force would conduct its own investigations so as to bring some closure to the issue. “From my days in the RFMF, it is a serious issue that ammunition is unaccounted for and found as such,” Brigadier-General Qiliho said.
“That itself results in the conducting of a board of inquiry in the RFMF. That shows the issue is taken very seriously.”
He thanked the person who found the ammunition and notified the Police.
“We are working with the RFMF in concluding our investigations on the matter. “Discussions over social media and talanoa sessions are now coming up with different kinds of stories in terms of the ammunition. “I want to stress to the members of the public that it is in no way linked to a previous ammunition find. They are two different calibres for two different reasons,” Brigadier-General Qiliho said. Brigadier-General Ro Jone confirmed he had received the report yesterday along with pictures of the ammunition.
“They all resemble what the standard issue for the RFMF is,” he said. “We are going into investigations to see whether we can link it with any inventory item within the RFMF that have been missing. “This batch of ammunition found is different and does not have any link to the ammunition found last year,” Brigadier-General Ro Jone said.
Police Media Officer for the Western Division, Sergeant Wame Bautolu said more information would be revealed once findings were collected and verified.
“Investigations are continuing. We have alerted all the necessary authorities whom we are all working closely with. They have sent their specialists,” Sergeant Bautolu said.
The RFMF confirmed its specialists would investigate the matter. Edited by Epineri Vula