Five more people have been charged by the Fiji Police Force in connection with the country’s largest-ever cocaine seizure intercepted on January 15 at a disused oil terminal in Vatia, near Tavua.
In total, 11 people now face court proceedings in connection with the 2.644‑tonne cocaine shipment, with an estimated street value of USD$527 million (FJD$1.2 billion).
Fiji Police allege the drugs were transported from the American continent using a “narco‑submarine”, a semi‑submersible vessel increasingly used by international trafficking syndicates.
Among those charged overnight is a 49-year-old Tongan man holding a New Zealand passport, deepening regional interest in a case already linked to transnational drug networks.
The other accused include a 33-year-old unemployed woman, a 40-year-old boat captain, and two self‑employed men aged 34 and 39, all from Suva.
The group is expected to appear in the Magistrates’ Court in Ba today.
Police say all five additional accused face charges of conspiracy to import illicit drugs.
According to Lice Movono, the ABC Fijian reporter, the Tongan national faces two additional charges for possessing items believed to be the proceeds of crime.
Similar possession charges have also been laid against the woman and the 34‑year‑old man.
These arrests add to the growing list of suspects linked to the massive drug haul.
Four Ecuadorian nationals and two Fijian men, including one who holds an Australian passport, were earlier charged with related offences and remain remanded in custody.
Fijian authorities say investigations are continuing, with more arrests possible as law enforcement agencies across the Pacific tighten cooperation to dismantle what they believe is a sophisticated trafficking network operating through the region.
