Nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine held by Fiji court replaced with flour
Thieves stole nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine from a Fiji courthouse exhibit room, replacing the narcotics with flour. Forensic tests confirmed that 39 cocaine bars stored at the Suva High Court for a major drug trial were tampered with. Fiji Police have identified six persons of interest in the case. Justice officials have defended drug disposal protocols and confirmed changes to court exhibit security following the missing evidence.
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- ✓ Nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine stored as evidence at the Suva High Court in Fiji were stolen and replaced with flour.
- ✓ Fiji police confirmed forensic tests reveal 39 cocaine bars held at the court were tampered with.
- ✓ Fiji Police have identified six persons of interest in the court cocaine case.
What changed
Fiji Police identified six persons of interest and forensic tests confirmed 39 cocaine bars were tampered with.
Live updates
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Fiji Court Cocaine Stolen and Replaced With Flour
Thieves stole nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine from a Fiji courthouse exhibit room, replacing the narcotics with flour. Forensic tests confirmed that 39 cocaine bars stored at the Suva High Court for a major drug trial were tampered with. Fiji Police have identified six persons of interest in the case. Justice officials have defended drug disposal protocols and confirmed changes to court exhibit security following the missing evidence.
Why it matters
The theft highlights vulnerabilities in evidence storage facilities as the South Pacific tourism hub grapples with an influx of narcotics. The missing narcotics represent a significant blow to a long-running drug-trafficking trial. Authorities are under mounting pressure to explain how major drug exhibits could be compromised while under police and court supervision.
What is confirmed
- Nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine stored as evidence at the Suva High Court in Fiji were stolen and replaced with flour.
- Fiji police confirmed forensic tests reveal 39 cocaine bars held at the court were tampered with.
- Fiji Police have identified six persons of interest in the court cocaine case.
Still unconfirmed
- The missing cocaine has an estimated value between $10 million and $31 million, with separate local reports citing $13 million and $50 million across multiple cases.
What to watch next
- Developments regarding the six persons of interest identified by Fiji Police
- Official updates on the total estimated street value of the missing cocaine exhibits
- Implementation and details of changes to court exhibit security announced by officials
confidence 100%Sources used for this update (22)
- CNN — Nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine held by Fiji court replaced with flour
- ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation — 32kg of cocaine held in Fiji court's evidence room replaced with flour
- Syracuse.com — $13M worth of cocaine stolen from Fiji courthouse, replaced with flour
- fijivillage.com — BREAKING : All cocaine bars worth $31 million tampered with and missing from the Suva High Court Exhibit Room
- The Independent — Major cocaine haul missing from court and replaced with flour
- channelnewsasia.com — Thieves swipe drugs under nose of Fiji police, swap with flour
- RNZ — Fiji's prosecutions office defends drug disposal protocols after cocaine turns to flour
- Fijivillage — Turaga confirms changes to court exhibit security after missing cocaine
- Stuff — 'A sad indictment': Flour replaces nearly 40kg of cocaine exhibit in Fiji court
- Taipei Times — Thieves swap drugs with flour under nose of Fiji police
- RNZ — Six persons of interest identified in court cocaine case, Fiji Police says
- The Telegraph — Thieves steal 85lb of cocaine from Fiji court and replace it with flour
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