Hard drugs and the deportees, the link to understanding Fiji’s drug problem

Hard drugs slowly and surely crept into the Pacific and wreaked havoc, the type not seen previously.

Fiji like all our Pacific neighbours have not been immune to this problem but we have been able to control it better compared to some of our neighbours.

But sale of hard drugs in Fiji will not be eradicated while we have a demand for them. Where did this demand stem from? How is it that we have people addicted to these drugs and where did this addiction start from?

One theory is that those who were deported to Fiji and the Pacific, from developed countries such as United States of America came back with this addiction.

It is believed that these deportees were the first of our locals addicted to hard drugs. They formed the base of our hard drugs syndicate in Fiji and the Pacific, and unless this problem is not dealt with, the demand for hard drugs in Fiji will not end.

But how do we deal with such a problem? This is a very complex issue. Fiji or any country in the world cannot legally stop their citizens or deny them entry.

Tonga and Samoa saw a surge in violent crimes, which was not witnessed before the drug problem started. The perpetrators were traced back to those who had links to gangs in the US and other countries and had been deported after serving time for their crimes while overseas.

We already have had one foreign national losing his life in Fiji during a drug deal gone wrong. Perhaps a registry of those deported from overseas will assist Police in keeping closer tabs on who are the hard drug consumers in Fiji.