More than 52kg of cocaine missing from Fiji court evidence rooms

More than 52 kilograms of cocaine has gone missing from evidence rooms at Fiji’s courts, according to Fiji Police, with part of the seized drug replaced by flour. Police said 32kg stored at Suva High Court for the trial of Fiji-Canadian national Joshua Aziz Rahman had been replaced with flour and was missing. A further 12.9kg seized in 2018 from the yacht of Australian horse trainer John Nikolic was also found to be absent.

Earlier, 7kg had been reported stolen from the Suva High Court. Police said the cocaine could have a street value exceeding $20 million, depending on its purity. The drugs in Nikolic’s case had not been destroyed because an appeal was continuing.

Senior Superintendent Peni Tuivaga said some CCTV cameras in the courthouse evidence room were not working and that biometric security was faulty during the period in which the drugs disappeared. Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said six people with access to the room were the focus of the investigation, with one of them overseas. He said police were pursuing the inquiry with “utmost urgency”.

Tudravu said responsibility for the drugs passed to the judiciary once they were deposited in the Suva High Court exhibit room. Fiji Police and the judiciary are now conducting a wider audit of exhibits, including drugs and cash held at police stations. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said its policies on drug destruction had changed since the anti-narcotics division was established in 2024 and that applications for destruction were now being prioritised.