Police warn drug cartels are creating an ice market in Fiji to feed Australia

Australia’s “insatiable appetite” for drugs has unleashed cartels across the Pacific, with Fiji now becoming an even bigger route after John Nikolic was busted smuggling cocaine on a superyacht.

Drug cartels are destroying the fabric of Fiji’s society as they use the island as a stopover from shipments to Australia, police have warned.

The Australian Federal Police and the Fiji Police Force are teaming up to fight drug traffickers, who are now also selling ice on the Pacific paradise.

The two forces will hold a summit in Fiji next May, with US, UK, New Zealand and Canadian intelligence also attending.

INTERPOL and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime will also be there as they attempt to disrupt the tonnes of ice and cocaine flowing from Mexico and Colombia into Australia.

Fiji Police Force Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu and AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett announced the conference in Suva on Wednesday.

AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett at AFP Headquarters in Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman

“Australia’s insatiable appetite for illegal commodities, and the high price the Australian public pays to consume these really dangerous substances, is putting significant pressure on our Pacific family,’’ Commissioner Barrett said.

“While the majority of these drugs are still trafficked to Australia, there is a growing concern that organised crime is now sending illicit commodities directly to the Pacific to find another market.

“The impact of illicit commodities on all our communities is heartbreaking. The health effects are distressing but the toll on youth, mental health, family structures, culture, financial systems and sovereignty can be just as disruptive.”

Drug cartels are using the Pacific as a drugs super highway, with the islands around Fiji also being used as defacto warehouses to store drugs before drip feeding them into Australia.

David Otto Heritage was sentenced to 55 years jail in Fiji in August for his part in a plot to import 4.1 tonnes of ice into Fiji.

The drugs were intercepted last year on Fantasy island, near Nadi, a tourist hotspot.

The drugs were estimated to be worth $1.3 billion, with a cartel supplying superyachts and satellite phones to co-ordinate the transit.

John Nikolic at the High Court in Suva in 2019, when he was sentenced for smuggling cocaine. Picture: Gary Ramage

Former Australian horse trainer John Nikolic remains behind bars in Fiji serving an 18-year sentence for smuggling cocaine on a yacht called Shenanigans.

The yacht had sailed from Florida to Fiji where it was picked up in 2018.

Fiji Revenue and Customs Service seized drugs from the yacht Shenanigans. Picture: Mark Stewart

John Nikolic's yacht Shenanigans on dry dock at Vuda Marina, near Lautoka, Fiji, in 2019. Picture: Gary Ramage

Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said “the Pacific region is being exploited because of the obvious challenges faced in policing its vast ocean, however, if we show a united front, we can make a greater impact and keep the illicit commodities from our shores”.

“We do hope that the summit will assist in changing mindsets, from what is traditionally perceived as a law enforcement only issue, to one where stakeholders realise that they, too, have a part to play in curbing transnational crimes,” he said.

Originally published as Police warn drug cartels are creating an ice market in Fiji to feed Australia