Police in Fiji have been uncovering massive hauls of methamphetamine, including this find of more than 1 tonne, announced on January 21, 2024. Photo / Supplied/ Fiji Police
By Kelvin Anthony of RNZ
A Nadi man charged with allegedly concealing over a tonne of methamphetamine at a property in the Western Division is the proprietor of a popular Nadi kava bar who also owns a business that has imported kava to Australia, RNZ Pacific and The Fiji Times have found.
Jale Aukerea, 42, was among 13 people charged over two separateseizures of a total of 4.8 tonnes of meth last month, which Fiji Police have said was imported into the country by barge and was intended for re-export abroad.
Aukerea has been charged in part with concealing 1.1 tonnes of the meth at a property in Maqalevu, Nadi.
Some of the drugs had been transferred from large bundles into smaller packaging disguised as 62 packets of kava, police have said.
Aukerea is the well-known operator of Kava Kings, a Votualevu kava bar known for hosting and promoting concerts by Fijian artists such as Paradise Rootz, Tana Music and Vegas 6, RNZ Pacific and The Fiji Times have found.
Corporate registry documents also show he is the part-owner and director of another company in Sydney by the same name, Kava Kings Pty Ltd, that promotes itself online as “Official Australian Government Approved Importers.”
Police photos from the Maqalevu raid show packages of “Kadavu Waka” that do not display the Kava Kings brand.