Four arrested for harbouring

Four people have been arrested and held in police custody for allegedly harbouring prisoners who escaped from authorities last week.

A 32-year-old female market vendor and 30-year-old contractor of Ba were arrested yesterday for assisting Maleli Sigavinaka and Daniel Thomas who were recaptured at 1pm in Ba yesterday.

A 25-year-old man of Veiraisi settlement in Nadera and a 35-year-old unemployed man of Delainavesi were both arrested Sunday night for harbouring inmates who escaped from the Korovou Prison on Sunday night.

Fiji Police Force spokesperson Ana Naisoro said no court dates have been scheduled as yet for the four and that investigations are ongoing.

Of the eight prisoners who fled – four from police custody and four from Korovou prison – five have been recaptured and three are still on the run.

Fiji Police Chief of Operations, ACP Rusiate Tudravu confirmed this to FijiLive.

“The five prisoners who have been recaptured so far were allegedly harboured by their close friends and relatives,” Tudravu said.

The three escapees still on the run include two of the four prisoners who escaped from Korovou and they are 24-year old Iowane Benidito of Kinoya, Nacanieli Bakata of Wailada, Lami as well as Ravuame Kedraika who escaped from police custody enroute to the Legal Aid Office in Suva last Thursday.

Tudravu has once again reiterated that harbouring prisoners is a crime and that people caught doing this will face the consequences.

Meanwhile, the Fiji Police Force extends its appreciation to the villagers of Natawarau and Nakavika in Ba for their assistance in recapturing two of the remand prisoners that escaped from the Nadi Police Station last week.

Tudravu said the recapture mission was aided by members of the two villages who turned up in large numbers to support the search team after a massive search around Tavarau peak and Johnson Hill.

By Indrani Krishna