The extent of the infiltration of the Fiji Police by drug kingpins has cast doubt in the minds of Australian Federal Police officers about whether the force can be trusted with information sharing, according to a new report by The Australian newspaper.
The story – by the paper’s New South Wales Editor, Stephen Rice – will fuel existing concerns by the RFMF that its recently-formed Joint Task Force with the Fiji Police is also being compromised by close links between police officers and senior figures in the drug trade.
Grubsheet understands the extent of the corruption of police officers has already triggered fears in the upper echelons of the RFMF that some of its front line troops assigned to the Joint Task Force are either being tempted by bribes or have already been bought off.
The Australian also ups the pressure on the RFMF by gaining an exclusive interview with the family of the murdered accused drug dealer, Jone Vakarisi, who was tortured and beaten to death in military custody on April 17. They are calling on the Australian government to suspend cooperation with Fiji’s military and police until Vakarisi’s killers are brought to justice.
Both angles are extremely embarrassing for Fiji as Australia tries to build a coalition of Asia Pacific nations to fight the unprecedented threat from the transnational crime syndicates behind the drug trade and their local agents, facilitators and dealers.
Trust between the two countries and their respective police forces is obviously essential for the effectiveness of that fight. Fiji simply cannot afford to be cast as a weak link and retain any credibility at all.
The extrajudicial killing of Jone Vakarisi will also be a thorn in the relationship until the RFMF personnel responsible are charged. Five weeks after his murder, that still hasn’t happened and his family naturally want to know why.
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The Fiji Police are also under the spotlight in this astonishing story on the front page of today’s Fiji Times – allegations that police are acting as drug couriers:
QUAD just announced plans to build a port in Fiji GD. Seems like the issues of the US and its allies are much more important than the beating to death of a drug kingpin. Maybe if the victim was a beacon of society, the international response would have been different. But methinks that the RFMF has been tasked with a quick cleanup of Fiji before construction of this port which is part of a greater deal with mineral security tied to the boom in chip production for AI. Trillions of dollars at stake will erase any human rights issues.
mineral security – supply chain from Fiji?
what do the landowners say?
Coming from another country, I don’t believe there is a single police officer in Fiji that doesn’t have a price that they would turn down if offered to them. From the ones that stop you for speeding to alleging drink driving and holding out a hand for money to make the infringement go away. Everyone you speak with has a story about the time they were hit up for a monetary solution for their ‘crime’
When this is blatantly happening with no one in authority making any attempt to stop it, it’s not hard to see the opportunities that would be available to those involved in chasing the bigger fish and the amounts they would not refuse, when offered.
The only solution to the problem would be to pair every native Fijian police officer with an overseas trained and recruited officer, to keep them honest.
And with the Australian police force trying to bolster its numbers by offering positions to kiwi police officers it doesn’t seem as though there would be enough officers available, even on a rotational secondment from either country to be able to do it. Not to mention any appetite from the current government for such a radical idea.
Why? Because this is Fiji, and it’s just the way it is. If you don’t like it, leave.
Not saying that the forces in AU are not corrupt but, look at the minimum education levels required and the pay given.
In Fiji, recruiting is done to your ability to be a brute (shoosh you!) to deal with the brutes roaming wild.
Perhaps changing the name to Fiji Police Service and, reintroducing corporal punishment in schools may help future generations.
Note: this government has removed corporal punishment in schools under the new education bill – perhaps pandering to their brutish supporter base?
The Fiji Police Force appears to be just like the House of Representatives or Parliament…many in there to fill their own pockets in the course of their (token) duties. And some say this rot is creeping into the RFMF as well??
What hope is there. For Fiji Ever Fiji, for evermore. Hope and Glory ? Just words, empty words.
Embarrassments galore for the government and now Lynda Tabuya doing her bit to stop it and abusing her powers. Now we know why she was made information minister – to deny people the right to information.
She must face the wrath of government. So must Rabuka:
META REMOVES CONTROVERSIAL ACCOUNTS
By Inoke Rabonu
27/05/2026
META has shut down the Facebook accounts of Alexandra Forwood and Ratu Ilaisa Sema as authorities intensify efforts to combat misinformation ahead of the 2026 General Election.
Minister for Information Lynda Tabuya confirmed the development during an interview today while urging Fijians to fact-check information shared online.
“Stick to facts,” Ms Tabuya said.
“It is important to continue to fact-check any news or any information that you come across.”
She said the removal of the accounts demonstrated the proper process for dealing with complaints about misinformation.
“Pages like Ratu Ilaisa Sema as well as Alexandra Forwood that have been shut down by META, that is the proper process to follow if you have a complaint about fake news being circulated by individuals,” Ms Tabuya said.
She urged members of the public to report concerns to the Online Safety Commission and the Cybercrime Unit of the Fiji Police Force.
“Please register that complaint with the Online Safety Commission as well as the Cybercrime Unit of the Fiji Police Force and they have been vigilant in their work and I congratulate them and I thank them for the speed and efficiency in the way that they work.”
Ms Tabuya warned that spreading misinformation could cause serious personal harm.
“But it’s important to know that when you spread misinformation or you spread untruths you’re not only damaging the reputation of a person, you’re also hurting them or harming them personally as well,” she said.
“There’s a lot of mental health issues that comes with it and we must be very mindful, especially as we’re giving up to the general elections, that we give every candidate, no matter which side of the aisle, whether we’re government or opposition or not in Parliament, everyone deserves a fair shot to be a candidate in the elections and we must respect that by circulating facts and truth.”
Ms Tabuya also issued a warning to individuals using fake online identities.
“My warning to those that try to create fake accounts or have fake aliases, you will be stopped and the law will come after you,” she said.
“So choose wisely and really I discourage you from doing so because you are only spreading information that is not right and it’s not true and not factual, which only is intended to cause harm and not good for our nation.”