Tanumalala inmate denies charge over 13 g of marijuana seeds and branches
Sefo Amituana'i, already serving a sentence at Tanumalala prison, appeared in Samoa's Supreme Court in December 2022 charged with possessing 27 marijuana seeds and 34 branches weighing 13.48 grams. He pleaded not guilty and was told to return to present his defence on 19 April 2023, two weeks after his scheduled release.
Sefo Amituana’i, a man serving a sentence at Tanumalala prison, appeared in the
Supreme Court of Samoa during the week of 19 December 2022 to answer three
charges of possessing marijuana.[1]He was accused of possessing 27 marijuana
seeds and 34 branches weighing 13.48 grams in total.[1]Justice Fepuleai
Ameperosa Roma told the defendant, who pleaded not guilty, that the charges were
very serious, especially because he was already serving time at Tanumalala and
now faced drug-related charges.[1]
The judge set a hearing for 19 April 2023 and told the inmate his scheduled
release on 3 April 2023 would go ahead, but that he must return to present his
defence to the new charges.[1]Justice Roma told the inmate that 19 April
would be the day police witnesses were called and the day he could bring
evidence supporting his not guilty plea.[2]
The case was reported as part of broader concern about how drugs reach
Tanumalala prison, where an investigation into a suspended prison officer later
heard witnesses describe marijuana moving inside the prison.[3]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The article says the appearance happened "this week" and gives no day; 20 December 2022, its publication date, is used as the incident date, and the January 2023 follow-up places the hearing on 20 December 2022.
The 13.48 grams is given for the 34 branches; whether it includes the seeds is not stated.
The quantity is described only as marijuana, with no laboratory confirmation reported.
No outcome of the 19 April 2023 hearing, and no sentence for the new charges, was reported in the opened accounts.
The case was heard at the Supreme Court in Mulinu'u, Apia; the coordinates are for Apia, not the courtroom.
The English page carried an unrelated advertisement image of new arrivals at SOS Togafuafua, so no photo of the event is listed.
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
The acting police commissioner said 20 raids between January and May 2026 led to 55 charges, including 12 women aged 18–47 and 43 men aged 16–53. Seizures included just over 100 g of methamphetamine, marijuana plants and joints, and firearms. The figures cover all drugs.
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.