Confiscation of Kava Shipment

FRCA Confiscation of KavaIf you’ve gotten wind of the recent confiscation of a kava shipment at the Nadi International Airport – never fear – it turned out not to be kava! Sadly, the shipment was actually proven to be cocaine.

The shipment of what was wrongly labeled as kava kava, had originally been exported to China. It was then returned or re-exported back to one of the kava dealers in the Fiji local.  Perhaps this kava dealer is involved? I certainly hope not!  But, that’s certainly something to be wary of when shopping for your preferred kava vendor – this can be a reminder to us all to do our research before choosing where to buy our kava or anything at all for that matter!

The Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF) – responsible for monitoring bioshipments coming through the airport – became suspicious after noticing discrepancies in the Biosecurity Phytosanitary Certificate.  The BAF brought their suspicions to the attention of the customs authority at the Nadi International Airport and unfortunately their suspicions ended up being correct. The initial test that the Customs Officers performed on the shipment proved positive for cocaine and was confiscated by the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority (FRCA) on 25/03/2014.

One thing that certainly is reassuring about this case however, is that we have authorities like the BAF to monitor things coming in and out of airports that kava shipments are going through – this gives me the feeling that kava can safely travel overseas to benefit everyone far and wide!

At this point, further investigations are still being made by the police to determine just exactly who was involved and the other horrible details.

It’s terrible that cases like this are tainting the image of kava and tampering with its positive purpose – but, fortunately this case was publicized and all can see that our beloved kava is still just as beautifully pure as always.

Source: FRCA Confiscation of Kava Shipment

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