Fijian and Australian police made the biggest methamphetamine drug bust in the southern hemisphere today when they raided a warehouse in the capital, Suva, that contained enough chemicals to make a tonne of the drug.
Police said they had broken up an Asian-run gang that had planned to ship the crystal methamphetamine, known as "ice", with a street value of Fijian $1.0 billion dollars (€500 million), to Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States.
Fiji's Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes told reporters seven people had been arrested - three Fijians and four Asians of unspecified nationality.
"We have spoken to New Zealand police who have put this as the largest methamphetamine chemical lab discovered and disrupted in the southern hemisphere," Mr Hughes said.
A 14-month-long joint investigation called "Operation Outrigger" led to the raid on the warehouse in Suva.
Police found five kg (11 lb) of manufactured methamphetamine and enough chemicals to make 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) of the drug per week.
Fijian police estimated the combined value of the drugs found and those which could have been produced from the raw materials recovered at about €500 million.