Three held after 4.90 g cannabis seizure in Punaauia
Gendarmes and Punaauia municipal police checked a car at the town hall and seized 4.90 g of cannabis handed over by the driver on 3 October 2026. All three occupants were placed in police custody, and the cannabis holder was summoned for 3 February 2027.
During the check, the driver spontaneously handed officers 4.90 grams of
cannabis.[1]All three occupants of the vehicle were placed in garde à vue,
the French term for police custody.[1]
After the driver handed over the cannabis, officers did not end the check; they
continued searching with help from a canine team.[1]They discovered 23.33
grams of methamphetamine, packaged in several sachets, inside a handbag.[1]A
precision scale and two pipettes were found with the methamphetamine.[1]The
cannabis and methamphetamine belonged to different people: the driver handed
over the cannabis, while a woman in the car held the methamphetamine.[1]
After the investigation, the cannabis holder was summoned to appear on 3
February 2027.[1]The third occupant was cleared of involvement.[1]
Photos and video
Gendarmerie image of cannabis and packaged material accompanying the seizure account. Photo: COMGEND PF.Photo details
Only one readable account of the 3 October stop could be opened; no independent second account was available.
No outcome of the cannabis holder’s scheduled court appearance on 3 February 2027 is known.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Polynésie La 1ère: Gendarmes from Punaauia and the municipal police were mobilized at the mairie, or town hall, for a vehicle check on 3 October 2026 under a requisition from the public prosecutor.
Customs seized 794 cannabis plants and 208 cuttings, about 513 kg, in Huahine and destroyed them on site. The raid was one of the largest cannabis seizures reported in the territory.
Gendarmes seized and destroyed 272 cannabis plants, about 42 kg of herb, at two hidden grow sites in Huahine on 8 October 2025. No growers had been identified and an investigation was continuing.
On 24 January 2024, gendarmes seized 298 cannabis plants at Mataura on the island of Tubuai, implicating four individuals. The French Polynesia gendarmerie said it had seized and destroyed 848 plants territory-wide since the start of 2024.
Gendarmes in Rurutu seized 460 pakalolo cannabis plants ranging from 20 cm to 2.5 m at a plantation on an unoccupied property in Moerai. A 34-year-old alleged repeat offender was placed in custody and was to appear in court.
