Source: 2003
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Neither Fiji nor Tonga is a major producer or a significant consumer of narcotics. There are some indications that drug syndicates are using both Fiji and Tonga as transshipment points for drugs bound for Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Police suspect that Fiji has also been used to transship drugs to the United States. Both Fiji and Tonga are parties to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
The greatest impediments to effective narcotics enforcement in Fiji and Tonga are their outdated laws and inexperienced and under-trained police. For example, Fiji law requires the approval of the President of Fiji in order to conduct a wiretap. Fiji law also requires that before customs officers can open a suspicious package or container the owner must be informed and must be present. Even when laws provide for modern investigative techniques, the police are often unable to manage such techniques. The maximum possible sentence for narcotics offenses in Fiji is eight years. While both Fiji and Tonga have passed money-laundering legislation that deals specifically with proceeds from narcotics-related crimes (Fiji in 1997 and Tonga in 2000), neither country has made an arrest nor secured a conviction under their respective laws.
Both Fiji and Tonga have laws permitting controlled deliveries of drugs for investigative purposes, although the ability of both local police forces to conduct such operations is limited. They do not have the training, personnel, or equipment to conduct the surveillance that would be part of a controlled delivery. Fiji police have conducted one controlled delivery with personnel and technical assistance from the Australian federal police. The use of controlled deliveries by the police is also limited because Fiji and Tonga laws require the police to prosecute only based on the amount allowed to remain in the controlled delivery and not the original amount of drugs.
Fiji's Attorney General submitted a bill to Parliament in April 2003 that would stiffen penalties for the possession and sale of illegal narcotics. The Illicit Drug Bill was designed to replace the Dangerous Drugs Act, which dealt with both medicinal narcotics and illegal substances. The bill is still under consideration.
Fiji does have a law providing for the confiscation of the proceeds earned from the commission of serious offenses. The Fiji police have never used this authority. Nor have they ever used the provision of the law for identifying criminal proceeds; evidentiary requirements under the law might well exceed the capacity of local investigative officials.
Policy Initiatives. Both Fiji and Tonga are taking steps to try to modernize their narcotics laws and criminal investigative procedures. Fiji and Tonga established Combined Law Agency Groups (CLAGs) in 2002, and they remained active in 2003. CLAGs consist of law enforcement and other agencies and are designed to provide for the timely exchange of information, enhance cooperation efforts, and develop joint target strategies between the two countries counternarcotics officials.
Cultivation/Production. Fiji has a growing internal problem from the cultivation and sale of cannabis. Other than cannabis, neither Fiji nor Tonga produces any drugs. Neither plays any role in the procurement of precursor chemicals. As the agricultural sector of the economy continues to experience difficulties, an increasing number of farmers are switching to cannabis. There are no known incidents of exports of cannabis from Fiji. Cannabis is the illicit drug of choice, primarily for economic reasons. The average income level in Fiji does not allow for the purchase or use of more expensive drugs. Cannabis seizures increased in 2003 from 2002's extremely low level of 1.15 kilograms to at least 30 kilograms. However, record-keeping is complicated by the Government's practice of recording both grams of cannabis seized (in ready-to-sell form) and whole plants seized. For example, the number of whole plants seized increased from 2,010 in 2002 to at least 4,000 in 2003.
Agreements and Treaties. Both Fiji and Tonga are parties to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and both are trying to meet the goals and objectives of the Convention. Fiji and Tonga are also parties to the 1961 UN Single Convention, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
The 1931 U.S.-UK Extradition Treaty remains in force between the United States and Tonga through a 1977 exchange of notes. Similarly, the 1931 U.S.-UK Extradition Treaty remains in force between the United States and Fiji through an exchange of notes that entered into force in 1973.
Corruption. Both the political instability caused by the coup d'etat in 2000 and poverty make Fiji highly vulnerable to corruption, and poverty also contributes to corruption in Tonga. Of particular concern in Fiji are the low salaries and status enjoyed by customs and immigration officials. The presence of increasing numbers of illegal migrants in Fiji has been connected with increased vulnerability to alien smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and, potentially, transiting terrorists. However, as a matter of government policy and practice, Fiji and Tonga do not encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of drugs or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.
Law Enforcement Efforts. According to Tongan officials, Tonga faces an increased threat from the large number of criminal deportees sent from the United States. Officials note that an average of more than 20 criminals have been deported from the U.S. to Tonga every year since 2000. Many of these deportees had been convicted for drug-related crimes and other serious offenses, such as armed assault, armed robbery, and sexual assault. In 2001, for example, Tongan police identified at least three deportees who were members of the "Tonnage Crip Gang" while they were in the United States. Tongan authorities say that they are now faced with sophisticated criminals whose skills and knowledge exceed those of the local authorities. Authorities in Tonga have stated that crime is increasing 40 percent each year in Tonga. Tongan police do not have the training or equipment to deal with the increase in either the number of crimes or the sophistication of criminals.
Police in Fiji mounted a major offensive against marijuana cultivation and sale in 2003. Expecting an increase in production to coincide with the South Pacific Games in July 2003, the acting Police Commissioner organized sweeps of known cultivation areas on both of Fiji's main islands, and set up interception teams at choke-points leading to major urban markets. The result was a 100 percent increase in whole plants seized, and eradication results that were 25 times higher than in 2002. There were consequences, however. Villagers in the northern island of Vanua Levu who cooperated with the police in pinpointing cultivation areas received death threats from growers, according to media reports.
Bilateral Cooperation. U.S. Government counternarcotics initiatives in Fiji and Tonga have concentrated on helping both countries secure their borders from the multiple and related threats of people smuggling, narcotics smuggling, and possible transit by international terrorists. In 2003, the U.S. Government helped fund seminars in Fiji by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat on drug interdiction, and by the UN Development Program on narcotics--risk assessment, profiling and search methodologies. These seminars were open to police and customs officials from the region, including Tonga and Fiji. Further cooperation in the fields of airport and port security is planned with both Fiji and Tonga.