A 52-year-old man, Kitione Draunidalo, has been sentenced to serve eight years of a nine-year prison term for unlawfully cultivating 211 marijuana plants. The ruling was made by Justice Pita Bulamainaivalu in the High Court in Suva on Tuesday. Draunidalo, a father of three, was found guilty of planting marijuana, which weighed approximately 278,064 grams, on Gau Island on March 13 last year. The cultivation was determined to be intended for commercial distribution and profit.
Justice Bulamainaivalu highlighted that the cultivation of cannabis in Lovu Village posed a significant risk to local residents, making the drug easily accessible and potentially harmful. This practice undermines the combined efforts of law enforcement and the community to combat illicit drug use. Draunidalo has 30 days to file an appeal against the sentence.