Reported by
A global collection of organized crime groups have entered into the lucrative business of trafficking drugs through Fiji — and they are increasingly arming themselves, the Pacific island nation’s defense minister said in an interview with OCCRP this week.
Fiji Defense Minister Pio Tikoduadua told OCCRP that the growing threat from groups ranging from South American cartels, Asian triads, and Australian street gangs was evident in two attempted raids on Republic of Fiji Military Forces armories last month, which led to the detention of a drug suspect who then died in army custody.
“It was an important event indicating to the nation and the government and the people that these guys are serious about their business,” he said of the attempted raids.
“They're narcotics syndicates, and narcos come with … arms and ammunition, obviously, to protect whatever they have.”
Tikoduadua told OCCRP that South American cartels now operate in Fiji alongside Asian triads and Fijian-born members of the Australian street gang KVT. Some ex-soldiers have joined organized crime groups, he said, but did not specify how many.
“We know that some of them work for some of these syndicates,” he told OCCRP. “If one goes on to work against the very security that they are supposed to hold, then they become enemies of the state.”
Tikoduadua declined to comment on the investigation into the death while in military custody of a suspect in an attempted break-in at an armory, a Fijian man named Jone Vakirisi. Fiji Police Force have announced they are investigating his death as a murder.
The defense minister did, however, confirm that there is a separate and ongoing military investigation into at least one soldier for alleged involvement in the attempted armory raids.
Allegations of police and military corruption, abuse of office and active collusion in the drug trade have been repeatedly made in recent years.
Late last year, alleged conversations between police officers and criminals were leaked on social media and widely circulated. The messages appeared to show senior anti-narcotic officers conspiring with a drug kingpin to sabotage raids, plant evidence, move weapons and drugs, and plan to murder a possible informant.
Last week, police appeared to confirm their authenticity with an announcement that an investigation of the messages had been completed and referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for independent legal advice.
“There is great concern … that service personnel, both blue and green, have been compromised,” said Tikoduadua, who oversaw the police as home affairs minister from 2022-24, referring to the colors of the uniforms worn by police officers and soldiers, respectively.
“Our situation is not unredeemable,” he added. “There is only a few rotten eggs. The solution is to pluck them out, put the eggs back in the basket and take them to the market.”
Corruption concerns have grown in parallel with reports of the amounts of drugs flowing through the island nation of just under 1 million people.
In 2024, Fijian authorities intercepted 4.5 metric tons of methamphetamines in the tourist resort town of Nadi that were reportedly supplied by Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and intended for a well-known criminal network in Australia.
In January, 2.6 metric tons of cocaine were intercepted at a wharf on the northern coast of Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, after the drugs were reportedly unloaded from a so-called narco sub. Police arrested 16 people including four Ecuadorians who reportedly told a Fijian court that they had been coerced into the operation by a South American cartel.
Correction: A previous version of the story mistakenly paraphrased Fiji Defense Minister Pio Tikoduadua as saying criminal groups were bringing weapons into Fiji.
