Seven guilty on drug charges in Fiji's largest-ever meth trafficking trial
Justice Aruna Aluthge delivered a landmark ruling in Fiji's largest-ever drug-trafficking case on Thursday afternoon, finding seven men guilty on charges relating to the meth haul.
The judge said drug cartels equipped with superyachts, satellite phones, and encrypted apps had used Fiji as a transit point for methamphetamine trafficking.
He also rejected arguments from defence lawyers that the men, accused of drug trafficking and drug possession, were acting under duress and motivated by fear of the cartels.
Police seized more than 4 tonnes of methamphetamine with an estimated value of $FJD2 billion ($1.37 billion) during a January 2024 raid in Fiji's tourism hub Nadi.
Fijians dismayed at the country's growing meth scourge have watched the trial closely since it began in June at the High Court in Lautoka, north of Nadi, where witnesses gave evidence revealing methods of a transnational meth trade.
Fiji prosecutors alleged that two of the men on trial, Justin Steven Masih Ho and David Otto Heritage, arranged for the methamphetamine to be shipped into the country.
Witnesses gave accounts of a drug shipment that brought the meth ashore at Fantasy Island, near Nadi, after a rendezvous with a superyacht on the high seas arranged via a satellite phone call in December 2023.
Along with seven other co-accused, the prosecution alleged that Mr Ho and Mr Heritage moved the drugs to locations around Nadi.
Justice Aluthge found Mr Ho and Mr Heritage guilty of unlawful importation of illicit drugs.
He also found the two men, along with several other co-accused, guilty of unlawful possession of illicit drugs.
Seven of the nine people charged in relation to the drug raid pleaded not guilty, while another two co-accused pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of illicit drugs before the trial.
In delivering his ruling, Justice Aluthge said Mr Ho was the key figure and main beneficiary of the drug-trafficking operation.
Of another of the accused men, Justice Aluthge said they had "buried [their] head in the sand" and ignored what was clearly illegal activity in front of them.
He adjourned the case until August 8 for sentencing.
The trial was regarded in Fiji as a test for the justice system and its fitness to confront cases involving transnational drug trade allegations.
It involved a record number of Fijians to be jointly accused in a single court case.
Justice Aluthge said the case exposed serious vulnerabilities in Fiji's border control, and pointed to "alarming evidence" that officers from the national Office of the Narcotics Bureau were complicit.
But he praised Fiji's law enforcement agencies, concluding that "despite many challenges, [they] are still capable of tackling sophisticated drug cartels".
Jose Sousa-Santos, an associate professor at the University of Canterbury's Pacific Regional Security Hub in New Zealand, said the trial proceeded quickly but didn't reveal who else was involved in the drug trafficking operation.
"So the risk is still there. Will they move these drugs to Fiji again or will they move to different Pacific Island countries?"
Dr Sousa-Santos said the case showed Fiji's efforts to strengthen legislation against drug trafficking had paid off, and would send a message that the country will arrest and prosecute offenders.
But he also warned that only "smaller players" in drug operations had faced consequences in the High Court case, rather than more senior figures from overseas cartels and drug syndicates.
"They still remain in a protective bubble," he said.
"That is the bad message that's coming out of this, that there's been no high-level targeting of these other entities."
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