15 Jul 2003

Fiji police face threats from a drug lord

4:27 pm on 15 July 2003

A "drug lord" operating oin Fiji's second island of Vanua Levu is reported to have threatened death to members of the local crime prevention unit if they interfere in his business.

The Fiji Sun says the unit's members in Natewa Bay have been continuously terrorised by those running the drug business.

The newspaper says this have been confirmed by the police spokesman, Mesake Koroi, who has described Natewa Bay as the Golden Triangle of Fiji.

Last month police uprooted more than four thousand 300 marijuana plants in the area in a major crackdown ahead of the South Pacific Games, but were confronted by angry villagers armed with spears, pitch forks and knives.

Despite their later arrests, members of the crime prevention unit continue to be targetted by drug dealers.

A police team in Suva will travel to Natewa Bay tomorrow to investigate the situation.