Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Fiji police say 18 people were arrested on drugs charges in the first five days of the year.
In a statement, police said these arrests included two juvenile students who were arrested on New Year's Day.
The arrests range from students aged 16 and 17 to a 58 year old man.
Most were found with dried leaves believed to be marijuana.
Three people were arrested for having white crystals believed to be methamphetamine.
In Tukavesi, during a training exercise, a Police team came across containers containing 334 green plants believed to be marijuana ranging from 10 cm to 174 cm.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations Livai Driu said they will continue with the war against drugs, but they need everyone's support.
"We are receiving drug information from the Turaga ni Koros and leaders of certain groups who don't want drugs to spoil their children's future.
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Drug use and supply are major concerns in much of the region.
Methodist Reverend Dr Semisi Turagavou told RNZ Pacific in November the drug issue cannot be handled by the government or Fiji Police alone and needs a whole-of-society approach.
Dr Semisi revealed that the challenge has also affected the church across the country, as some of its young people have resorted to using or selling drugs such as marijuana and methamphetamine, or what is called "ice" on the streets.
Former Fiji MP Lynda Tabuya said she would like to see the death penalty brought to Fiji for those who traffic large quantities of drugs, which caused mixed reactions.
Recently, authorities in French Polynesia seized a record 524 kilograms of cocaine aboard a Spanish-flagged vessel on Christmas Eve.
In August, a priest and a deacon were suspended by the Catholic Church in Samoa, pending an internal investigation into their alleged involvement in illicit drugs.
The Tonga Police Drugs Squad, in raids on 9, 13, 14 and 17 August, seized a total of 6.1 kilograms of methamphetamine, believed to have imported from the United States.
