Cocaine used as evidence in a long-running drug-trafficking trial in Fiji is replaced with flour, according to multiple reports. ABC Australia and other outlets say the consignment held at a court was valued at more than $10 million, and that the cocaine evidence stored for the case is no longer as originally kept.
Reports add that Fiji police begin investigating after the theft of part of the evidence on 15 September. Media reporting says seven of 39 cocaine bars were taken from an evidence room, and that the remaining 32 bars were later found to contain flour rather than cocaine. The outlets describe the incident as a significant development in the ongoing trial, with authorities examining how the evidence was altered.
While both accounts agree on the central facts—that cocaine evidence worth over $10 million at a Fiji court is replaced with flour and that the investigation follows the disappearance of some bars—details such as the exact wording of the replacement process and the timeline beyond the theft date are presented differently across outlets.
