News

Driver denies knowing about meth shipment

July 2, 2025 3:15 pm

Ratu Aporosa Davelevu in court today.

The fourth accused in one of Fiji’s biggest drug cases has denied knowing he was helping move over four tonnes of methamphetamine.

Ratu Aporosa Davelevu took the stand at the Lautoka High Court today, telling Justice Aruna Aluthge he was only hired to drive a truck, not move drugs.

He claimed he was paid $200 by co-accused Justin Ho after being approached at SubZero Barbershop in Denarau in December 2023.

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Davelevu said he was deported from Australia in 2017 for repeated traffic offences and was working as a forklift driver before his arrest.

Under cross-examination, State Prosecutor John Rabuku challenged his version of events, noting Davelevu chose to remain silent during key parts of his police interview, especially when asked about the truck.

Rabuku questioned why Davelevu travelled all the way to Denarau for a haircut, implying he was there to help with the drug run.

Justin Ho’s lawyer, Samuela Heritage, also suggested Davelevu’s deportation may have been drug-related. Davelevu denied this, insisting it was due to minor traffic violations.

The trial continues with more defence witnesses expected to appear.

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