Rahman’s 23-Year Cocaine Sentence Overturned by Court of Appeal

A Canadian national who was sentenced to 23 years imprisonment for possessing nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine is now a free man after the Fiji Court of Appeal quashed his conviction.

Joshua Rahman, 31, had been found guilty in 2021 after authorities alleged he was discovered with 39.5 kilograms of cocaine valued at approximately $31 million in Caubati in February 2019.

He was sentenced by the Suva High Court on October 12, 2021.

However, in a detailed ruling, the Court of Appeal found that significant legal errors were made during the trial.

The appellate judges ruled that the trial judge erred in both fact and law by accepting evidence from a police officer that Rahman had not been informed of the nature of the charges that might be brought against him.

The Court noted inconsistencies in police evidence, including a separate statement indicating Rahman was arrested in Nadi for dealing with drugs.

The Court of Appeal also found fault with the trial judge’s interpretation of search warrant procedures. The ruling stated that the judge was wrong to hold that search warrants could be executed at night when the issuing Magistrate or Justice of the Peace had not expressly authorised a nighttime search.

Further, the Court determined that Rahman’s arrest was not lawful.

The Court also found that Rahman was unlawfully detained beyond the constitutionally permitted period and was caution-interviewed in relation to matters for which he was never formally charged.