Former ACP labels recent drug find ‘scary’

THE man behind the shutdown of a billion dollar Fiji drug lab in 2004 has labelled the recent drug find in Nadi as ‘scary’.

Former Assistant Commissioner of Police Henry Brown said “this is a different beast”.

“It is in our backyard now,” said Mr Brown while interviewed on online portal

The Lens@177.

“To be honest I do not know much about that investigation. I only read whatever is put out by

but if it is in our backyard. The fight has just gone up tenfold. It is scary, was my thought initially.

“The sheer size of it. It is scary.”

During the interview Mr Brown recalled his work in 2004 when a huge drug lab at Laucala

Beach Estate was raided and closed down. The lab was reported to be the largest in the Southern Hemisphere at the time.

Mr Brown said that after the successful shutdown in 2004 he had made numerous presentations to local, regional and international stakeholders of the dangers that loomed.

“My message always was that the doors have opened in the region now.

“The drugs will spill over into the local market.

“The byproduct of it or the poor quality of it will seep through to the local market.

“So, whatever we are doing we have to tighten it up.”

He said 20 or 30 years ago no one would have thought that a drug lab would exist in Fiji.

“Interpol in that year had classified it as the biggest drug lab in the Southern Hemisphere.”

Mr Brown referred to the recent drug operation uncovered in Nadi this year as “a different beast altogether”.

“The fight has gone up tenfold,” he said.

Questions sent to Assistant Police Commissioner (Crime) Mesake Waqa on Mr Brown’s comments remained unanswered when this edition went to press last night.