27 Feb 2007

Former Fiji police chief alleges kidnap plot

5:15 pm on 27 February 2007

The former Fiji police commissioner, Andrew Hughes, says he and his family were to be kidnapped and held for ransom apparently at the behest of military chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama.

The Canberra Times says Mr Hughes made the revelation at a dinner hosted by Australian Federal Police in Canberra last night.

While Mr Hughes had spoken of threats made against him and his family in the final days of his term in Fiji, last night he revealed more details which led him to believe he, his wife and their 17-year-old twin boys were to be kidnapped and held for ransom.

The Fiji Land Force Commander, Colonel Pita Driti, has dismissed the statement, saying he should stop creating stories.