Nine found guilty in Fiji's biggest meth trafficking case

Nine people have been found guilty by a High Court in Fiji for their roles in a large-scale methamphetamine operation.

The group was involved in importing and possessing more than four tonnes of meth between November 2023 and January 2024 in the tourist town of Nadi.

Justin Ho, David Heritage, Louie Logaivau, Jale Aukerea, Sakiusa Tuva, Ratu Aporosa Davelevu, Ratu Osea Levula, Cathy Tuirabe and Vilimae Colawaliku faced serious charges, including drug trafficking.

Ho, Logaivau, and Aukerea were also charged with having property suspected of being the proceeds of a crime.

The case is the largest drug-trafficking operation ever seen in Fiji, and it resulted from a major police raid last year.

In the Lautoka High Court on Thursday, Justice Aruna Aluthge found seven of the defendants guilty on charges relating to the meth bust. Davelevu and Logaivau were found not guilty on two counts.

Guilty: Justin Ho has been identified as one of the key figures in the 4.1-tonne meth haul in Nadi. Photo/Supplied

The group was charged between 20 and 24 January for plotting to import the drugs, worth an estimated NZ$1.42 billion.

The trial, which started in May, revealed that "sophisticated drug cartels" were using Fiji as a transit point to ship drugs to markets in New Zealand and Australia.

The court heard that the drugs were brought ashore from a superyacht after a secret meeting on the high seas.

Fiji Police seized a record 4.1 tonnes of methamphetamine during a raid in January 2024. Photo/Fiji Police Force

Justice Aluthge rejected arguments from defence lawyers that the men were acting under duress and motivated by fear of the cartels.

Witnesses testified about the methods of a transnational meth trade.

Prosecutors alleged that Ho and Heritage arranged for the drugs to be shipped into the country.

Witnesses also gave accounts of a drug shipment that brought the meth ashore at Fantasy Island, near Nadi, after a rendezvous with a superyacht on the high seas arranged via a satellite phone call in December 2023.

Along with the seven co-accused, the prosecution alleged that Ho and Heritage moved the drugs to locations around Nadi.

Watch as the accused leave the court after being found guilty of drug trafficking.

Ho and Heritage were found guilty of unlawful importation of illicit drugs. The judge also found the two men, along with other co-accused, guilty of illegal possession of illicit drugs.

While seven of the accused pleaded not guilty, two admitted to lesser charges before the trial started.

Athuco says Ho was a key figure in the operation, and she criticised the defendants for ignoring the illegal activities taking place around them.

The group will be sentenced on 8 August.

The meth seized by Fiji Police is valued at an estimated NZ$1.42 billion. Photo/Fiji Police

The full verdict is as follows:

• Justin Steven Masih Ho and David Otto Heritage (count one)- Unlawful importation of illicit drugs: Guilty

• Justin Steven Masih Ho, David Otto Heritage and Louie Frank Penijamini Logaivau (count two) - Unlawful possession of illicit drugs: Guilty

• Justin Steven Masih Ho, Louie Frank Penijamini Logaivau (count three) - Unlawful possession of illicit drugs: Guilty

• Justin Steven Masih Ho and Louie Frank Penijamini Logaivau (count four) - Unlawful possession of illicit drugs: Guilty

• Louie Frank Penijamini Logaivau and Ratu Aporosa Davelevu (count five) - Unlawful possession of illicit drugs: Guilty

• Louie Frank Penijamini Logaivau and Ratu Aporosa Davelevu (count six) - Unlawful possession of illicit drugs: Guilty (Louie Frank Penijamini Logaivau)/Not Guilty (Ratu Aporosa Davelevu)

• Sakiusa Tuva (count seven) - Unlawful possession of illicit drugs: Guilty

• Jale Aukerea, Sakiusa Tuva, Ratu Osea Navalunilotu Levula, Cathy Tuirabe, Viliame Colowaliku (count eight) Unlawful possession of illicit drugs: Guilty

• Sakiusa Tuva and Jale Aukerea (count nine) - Unlawful possession of illicit drugs: Guilty

• Justin Steven Masih Ho (count 10) - Possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime: Guilty

• Louie Frank Penijamini Logaivau (count 11) - Possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime: Not Guilty

• Jale Aukerea (count 12) - Possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime: Guilty.

Watch NZ's Former Deputy Police Commissioner John Tims' interview with PMN Multimedia Journalist Vaimaila Leatinu’u on how Pacific drug routes are affecting NZ, among other things.