Fiji police uproot $4m of marijuana in June raids across Vanua Levu
Fiji Police put the value of marijuana confiscated in the Northern Division in June 2018 at $4 million, the result of drug raids across Vanua Levu. Assistant Commissioner of Police Maretino Qiolevu announced the figure in Labasa and said the raids focused on the illegal marijuana trade.
Fiji Police confiscated marijuana worth $4 million in the Northern Division in
June 2018.[1]The force said the total was the result of drug raids conducted
on Vanua Levu for the month of June.[1]
Assistant Commissioner of Police Maretino Qiolevu announced the figure at the
closing of the week-long Digicel Duavata Crime Prevention Carnival in Labasa on
Saturday night.[1]Qiolevu said officers had been conducting raids throughout
Vanua Levu focusing on the illegal marijuana trade.[1]
The raids uprooted marijuana plants.[1]A police photograph showed an officer
holding a plant believed to be marijuana that was uprooted from a farm in
Cakaudrove.[1]
Photos and video
A police officer holds up a plant believed to be marijuana that was uprooted from a farm in Cakaudrove. Photo: SuppliedPhoto details
No count of plants destroyed, weight or area cleared was published; only the value of the marijuana was given.
The value is stated only as '$4 million' without a currency code; it is recorded in Fiji dollars.
No arrests, suspects or charges were reported over the June raids.
The exact dates of the raids and the specific locations on Vanua Levu were not published; the report is dated to 30 June 2018 as the end of the month covered.
The plants are described only as believed to be marijuana, with no laboratory confirmation reported.
How police calculated the $4 million value was not stated.
The account rests on one short Fiji Times report; no police statement or second outlet account was found.
More than 8,000 plants believed to be marijuana were uprooted from two farms in the Lea farming area of Cakaudrove. The joint Northern Division Taskforce, supported by Republic of Fiji Military Forces officers, found the farms this week while police separately seized suspected methamphetamine and cash in Laucala Beach.
Police discovered a 1,500-plant marijuana farm at Vesivuru, Lea, and a 100-plant farm at Nawi, Tukavesi, arresting the suspected owner, a 38-year-old man, as nationwide operations continued on 29 October 2026.
Northern Division police uprooted 2,371 suspected marijuana plants from two farms at Nanuca, Savusavu, on 19 October 2026. A 38-year-old farmer from Drekeniwai Village was arrested over the alleged cultivation.
Fiji Police uprooted more than 11,000 plants believed to be marijuana from a farming area in Nasuva, Cakaudrove, on 2 October 2026. The farm's owner has not been identified and police were still trying to locate them a week later; the plants were seized for analysis.
