Drug case withdrawn

A MAN facing charges related to the transportation of $25 million worth of illicit drugs had his case withdrawn in the High Court in Lautoka after the Director of Public Prosecutions filed a nolle prosequi on October 16.

Jone Calevu was charged with the offence after he was implicated in the shipment of 34 kilograms of methamphetamine from Vuda, Lautoka, to Tauranga, New Zealand, last year.

The drugs seized by New Zealand authorities had a street value of $25m.

The DPP filed a notice to discontinue proceedings against Mr Calevu on October 16 before High Court judge, Justice Sunil Sharma.

The Fiji Times sent questions to DPP Christopher Pryde on Wednesday, December 30 and followed up on Thursday, asking him to state why the nolle prosequi was filed in the case against Mr Calevu.

A response from the DPP’s media unit read the office needed more time to get the information.

“Since this matter was last called in October and it is December now when you are asking for information, so we have to check our records and once the registry gets back to me, I will advise accordingly,” the ODPP statement read.

Mr Calevu’s counsel told this newspaper “they never had evidence” against his client.

“The way they are carrying on with these huge drug cases is appalling,” said John Rabuku.

“They never had evidence that met the requisite criminal standard against him in the first place.”

Meanwhile, two Fijians Turuva Kunaqoro and Taniela Molidegei were also arrested and charged with importing the Class A drug into New Zealand.

Kunaqoro was jailed for 15 years while Molidegei was sentenced to 10 years in prison on October 14 by the Tauranga District Court.