35 arrested, 101 cannabis plants seized in Port Vila's three-day Operation Black Ice
Vanuatu police arrested 35 people and harvested 101 cannabis plants during Operation Black Ice across Port Vila from 18 to 20 October 2018. Eight of 21 Lycee LAB students searched in an empty Bahai Street house were charged with marijuana possession and viewing pornography; all 35 arrestees were bailed to appear in court on 5 December.
Police arrested 35 people during the operation; all were bailed to appear in
court on 5 December 2018.[1]The arrests formed part of Operation Black Ice,
which ran across Port Vila from 18 to 20 October 2018.[1]
Police charged eight male Lycee LAB students with possessing marijuana and
viewing pornography.[2]Police apprehended them in an empty house on Bahai
Street, a few metres from their school.[2]The eight were among 21 male
students at the house whom police searched and cautioned.[1]Police also
searched eight young people at an empty house near Karri Shopping and arrested
five at Fresh Wota Hill for marijuana possession.[1]
Across the operation, officers conducted 29 searches in 16 areas and on one
shipping vessel in Port Vila.[1]They harvested 101 cannabis plants in five
different areas.[1]Police destroyed three marijuana ‘hot spots’ at Ohlen,
Fresh Wota and Teouma, describing them as places where young people went to get
cannabis.[1]
The operation combined search warrants, foot and mobile patrols, awareness
sessions and arrests.[1]At each area, police gave awareness sessions about
marijuana use, its dangerous effects and the law.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The police headline describes 29 students as searched and charged, but its body says 29 were searched across Bahai Street and Karri Shopping and only eight were charged; the body figures are used here.
No weight or value was published for the 101 plants or the marijuana involved in the possession cases.
The statement does not say how many of the other 27 arrestees were charged, beyond the eight students.
No plea or court outcome was reported for the students or the other people arrested.
The police statement does not identify the five areas where the 101 plants were harvested.
The operation-wide totals come from the Vanuatu Police Force's own statement.
Police in Luganville found 135 g of marijuana in Bakon Etul's basket during a traffic stop on 22 May 2026. The Supreme Court at Luganville on 18 September 2026 jailed him for eight months immediately, treating him as a fourth-time offender despite his guilty plea.
Seles Stephen Rokasia pleaded guilty after police searched his Chapuis home in Luganville on 6 March 2026 and found 45.34 g of cannabis for personal use. The Supreme Court at Luganville on 18 September 2026 ordered twelve months’ supervision with a drug programme and 100 hours of community work, and forfeited the drugs for destruction.
Vanuatu's police drug squad seized about 60 marijuana plants from a house used as a nursery near Vila East School in the Independence Park area of Port Vila, and arrested an Australian national. Police were checking whether the raid was linked to an alleged drug lab found behind Mele Beach.
Vanuatu's National Drug Squad rounded up 20 villagers on Malekula and seized 40 bags of freshly harvested marijuana in late 2006. The island's MP said growers deserved leniency when copra prices left families unable to pay school fees.