Nakasi Raid Suggests Network of Organised Crime: Ex-Officer

Aretired senior member of the Fiji Police Force says the discovery of many electronic items following a raid in Nakasi suggests a network of organised crime.

Deo Narayan was a Superintendent of Police when he retired. He shed light on the possible existence of small networks which were organised to some level. It followed a bust on Tuesday at a home in Nakasi where more than 50 laptops, phones, hard drives and other electronics were found.

The house in Nakasi, Nausori, also moonlighted as a shop. All items were believed to be stolen and destined for sale online.

The Police have asked people to come forward and identify the items. Mr Narayan said the linkage between the buyer and the suppliers were very clear. “The buyer in such cases only has selected people whom he buys from. This also suggests that the alleged thieves in such cases carefully study their targets,” Mr Narayan said. “Very few cases are random. This in itself requires planning and organisation. The buyer in this case is not always the mastermind.

“He, in some cases, is a means to an end. Therefore investigations should focus on getting everyone involved.”

Mr Narayan said sometimes the stolen phones were unlocked by legitimate businesses who provide the service. He said the involvement of a person with information technology (IT) skills should not be ruled out.

Technical aspects

IT specialist, Atnish Chand, who has been involved in the technical field for almost two decades said laptops were the easiest things to unlock.

“Unless there is a Bios lock, all laptops can be reformatted. For phones, the person would require a phone cracking software,” Mr

Chand said.

“There is definitely a need for at least some IT skills to run such an operation.”

He added posts would most likely be made through various fake accounts.

Police investigations

In a statement, Police verified that the items were destined to be sold online.

Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro has urged members of the public to be responsible as well when buying products.

Under the law, knowingly buying a property known to be stolen is a crime punishable by a jail term.