Police in Fiji have launched an investigation after nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine kept as evidence in a major drug case reportedly disappeared from a court vault, with the seized narcotics allegedly replaced with flour and other counterfeit substances.
The missing cocaine, estimated to be worth around 30 million Fijian dollars, equivalent to approximately US$13.3 million, was part of evidence seized in a 2019 drug case involving Fiji-Canadian national Joshua Rahman.
Rahman was convicted of unlawful possession of the drugs, according to official records.
The seized cocaine was subsequently kept at the Suva High Court while legal proceedings, including appeals, continued.
However, authorities discovered during an inspection on September 15 that seven of the 39 cocaine bars originally stored as evidence were missing.
Further examination reportedly revealed an even more serious development: the remaining exhibits had also been tampered with and replaced with substances that were not cocaine.
Fiji Police said forensic testing conducted on the remaining exhibits returned negative results for cocaine.
“The exhibits were all tampered with,” police said in a statement, adding that investigators were focusing on individuals responsible for managing the exhibits at the High Court Registry.
Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said the cocaine had been placed inside the High Court vault in March 2021. However, investigators have not yet established exactly when the alleged theft and substitution took place.
According to the police commissioner, the exhibits had previously been confirmed to contain cocaine during testing carried out in 2019.
Investigators have identified six persons of interest who work within the judiciary and were believed to have had access to the vault where the evidence was stored.
Tudravu said one of the six individuals was currently outside Fiji, while investigations were continuing to determine how the drugs were removed and who was responsible.
Authorities have also begun checking other exhibits stored at the court to determine whether they may have been tampered with.
The inspection reportedly includes other seized items, including cash, as investigators widen their probe into the security of evidence kept within the judicial system.
The disappearance of such a large quantity of cocaine from a court facility has triggered public concern and questions from lawmakers over the security measures surrounding evidence in Fiji’s courts.
Opposition politician Jone Usamate described the replacement of the cocaine with flour as a serious indictment of whoever was responsible for safeguarding the exhibits.
He also questioned how authorities could be certain that other evidence stored at the court remained intact and had not been substituted.
Justice Minister Siromi Turaga also expressed disappointment and shock over the incident.
He said authorities were working to strengthen security arrangements and review existing procedures governing the storage and management of exhibits at the High Court.
The investigation remains ongoing as police work to establish when the cocaine disappeared, how it was removed from the secured facility and who was responsible for replacing the seized drugs with counterfeit substances.
