Samoa man jailed 18 months for a repeat marijuana possession offence
Tulolo Lotele, 32, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Samoa's Supreme Court after admitting possession of marijuana and utensils found when police searched his vehicle at Tauese on 6 January 2026. Justice Leutele Mata Tuatagaloa cut a two-year term by 25 per cent for his early plea, and the Alcohol and Drugs Court had refused him bail for earlier offences of the same kind.
Tulolo Lotele, 32, was jailed for 18 months by Samoa’s Supreme Court for a
repeat offence of possessing narcotics.[1]He pleaded guilty to possessing
marijuana and utensils.[1]Police searched his vehicle at Tauese on 6 January
2026.[1]Officers found 12 marijuana cigarettes, two clear pipes and a
portable scale.[1]
The Alcohol and Drugs Court denied him bail because of previous offences of the
same kind.[1]Justice Leutele Mata Tuatagaloa began at two years and took off
25 per cent for his early guilty plea.[1]The judge told him she hoped prison
would teach him a lesson and that he would become a good citizen of Samoa
afterwards.[1]Lotele is unemployed and comes from the village of Saina.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The article gives no weight for the 12 marijuana cigarettes, so no kilogram figure is recorded.
The article gives no separate date for the sentencing; 19 April 2026 is its publication date and is used as the incident date.
The page does not say where the Supreme Court, the Alcohol and Drugs Court or the police vehicle search took place beyond Tauese and Saina, so no precise place or point is recorded.
The earlier offences behind the repeat charge and the bail refusal are not described.
Customs officers at Apia Wharf intercepted suspected marijuana on a 25-year-old passenger and an undeclared firearm in a 42-year-old passenger's luggage after the MV Lady Samoa IV arrived from American Samoa. Both men were charged and handed to Samoa Police, Prisons and Corrections Services for investigation.
Tinofili Perenise, 28, was sentenced to one year and ten months in prison in Samoa after pleading guilty to possessing 45 marijuana cigarettes weighing 22.6 grams, which he admitted selling to fund his drug addiction. Police found the cigarettes and a glass pipe in a bag during a June search at Tafaigata, and the court treated the quantity and commercial intent as aggravating factors.
Sentenced 1Cannabis 22.6 gPrison 1 year and 10 months
Samoa's Supreme Court sentenced four people convicted after a December 2019 police raid at Fa'atoia, near Apia, where officers found marijuana and methamphetamine in a bedroom. A pregnant woman and a co-defendant were jailed for two years each, a third man was jailed for two years over a smoking party and a fourth was fined $2,000 for smoking marijuana.
Convicted 4Sentenced 4Prison 2 years for AJ Roache; 2 years for Ana Fuimaono; term for Tuitama not statedFine WST 2,000
Samoa's Supreme Court sentenced Darren Stanley, 23, to four years and three months in prison for cultivating the 71 marijuana plants that police found at a co-defendant's property in Vaiusu in August 2018. The judge set a starting point of four and a half years and deducted three months for his personal circumstances.
Convicted 1Sentenced 1Plants destroyed 71Prison 4 years and 3 months