Millions of dollars worth of cocaine stored as evidence at a high court in Fiji has gone missing, with some of it replaced with flour in a incident the country’s Prime Minister has described as “very concerning and embarrassing”.

Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said on Wednesday that an investigation was launched earlier this month after seven of 39 one-kilo cocaine bars went missing.

The remaining bars were subsequently tested and returned negative for illicit drugs, with local media reporting they had been replaced with flour.

The drugs, valued at about $A10 million, tested positive for cocaine in both February and July 2019, according to police records, and were then taken to the High Court in 2021.

Tudravu said drugs held as evidence from another case had also been missing since March.

Cocaine missing from the Suva High Court was related to the long-running trial of Fiji-Canadian national Joshua Aziz Rahman, according to the ABC.

“It is a great concern to all of us. It’s a concern for government,” Tudravu said.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told the Fiji Times on Wednesday that he had not yet received an official report on the incident but viewed it as very serious.

“It’s very, very damaging, very concerning and embarrassing. We are very concerned, so we need to get to the bottom of it.”

Police said the investigation was focused on those responsible for managing the exhibits at the High Court Registry.

Tudravu said they had identified six people of interest.

“Investigators have been working on piecing together the timelines of events since exhibits were attended in court,” he said.

“While I understand that the sense of urgency is demanding quick results, we are doing our best to ensure justice prevails.”

The country’s Justice, Minister Siromi Turaga, told parlaiment the disappearance of the drugs was “shocking”.

“No stone will be left unturned. Anyone found guilty will be held accountable.”

-with DPA