Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in www.connectme.com.fj/news/opinion. I thank Allen and Connect for permission to reprint some of them in this political blog. They remind us that life goes on, whatever the political situation. And it's good to know that.

Drug Bust

Huge sums of money have been found buried in the bushes in the Highlands of Fiji. Yes drug farmers are burying their cash. A report says that drug farmers are simple people. Are they? They are not depositing huge sums of money in the bank because it will raise eyebrows.

With my vivid imagination I envisioned “Tomasi” and “Anil” simple cash crop farmers, walk in to a bank in Fiji with $24,000 in cash. With their different coloured flipflops, dirty fingernails and torn denim jeans and with the large bag of money they will be a sight to behold. Anil will get a call on his $2,000 mobile phone and whisper, “Yes we are here.” The bank teller will look up and wonder how and where they got the money.

As usual the teller will smile and greet them and then go about making the deposit and press a little button on the bottom of the counter. Security silently surrounds them and the police are alerted. But Tomasi and Anil and not stupid, simple farmers maybe, but not stupid, clever is a word that comes to mind. Silly is another.

However, the police are doing a good job hunting down and getting rid of illegal drugs. The farmers should be reminded that the drugs they sell leads to robbery and other unsocial things.

But what happens to the drug money found buried in the bushes? We see marijuana go up in smoke but never the money.  What happens to it, I wonder. Someone said it could be put to good use. But where!