Kids Used As Drug Mules: Police
Children continue to be used as drug mules, says Police Chief of Operations, Livai
Driu.
This week, police have conducted two separate raids on vessels coming in from Kadavu where dried leaves believed to be marijuana were seized.
The first raid was on Sunday night; the second was on Wednesday at the Port Mua-i-Walu (Narain Jetty) in Suva.
Passengers had to wait for almost four hours for the raid to be completed before they could disembark. Police found that most of the time children’s cargo were used to bring in the drugs to the main city.
“Parents need to be vigilant because like we have always been telling people, the Fiji Police Force cannot deal with this alone,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations, Driu said.
“I have been reiterating this since last year, the concerns now are parental supervision.
“We are also relying on our communities to be responsible and provide information of what is on the ground.”
ACPO Driu said their scope of operation wasn’t only limited to the white drugs.
“It’s not necessarily an increase, it’s just the volume of the drugs that we’ve raided,” he said.
“We’ve strengthened our borders and been working within our intelligence, through the community’s help.”
Goundar Shipping
Managing director George Goundar expressed frustrations about how these drug transportations were an inconvenience the travelling public.
To ensure tight security on his boats, he is willing to get line ministers and police involved.
“It would be better off to convenience the public here if we put the Police on board; we’ll provide all the facilities for officers to stay on board, but not to do away with inconveniencing the public,” he said.
“This is the third time this has happened and it’s not a good look for my company as well as the public that’s travelling on the vessel.”