Fiji will expand its protection of its borders into marinas and the waterfront where officials will be allowed to board and search vessels.
According to the Fiji Times Online, the country's Border Police Unit will be signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the directors of Port Denarau, a main tourist port in the county and 'a growing hub for visiting yachts'.According to the report, this MOU allows border patrol agents to board and search vessels.
According to the report by Fiji Times Online, 'recent research by various agencies have raised concern about the activities of some yachties and law enforcement agencies have admitted that data on entry via our sea were hard to document'.
Commander Border Police Senior Superintendent Rusiate Saini said to be effective border patrol agents needed to be visible and the added cooperation of stakeholders would be a bonus.
Recent drug busts at Nadi International Airport have led police to believe that Fiji is being used as a transit point, its geographical location making it an attractive route for transfer to western markets.
SSP Saini said Fiji's islands were so widely dispersed that water policing would be an expensive exercise because of the coverage area.
According to the report, 'police officers and headmen in outlying islands have also been recruited as border patrol agents, reporting in suspicious activities for attendance by the water police'.