29 cannabis plants seized from Tongatapu bush allotment, no arrests
Tonga Police's Drugs Enforcement Taskforce seized 29 cannabis plants from a bush allotment at Fonongahina, near Sia'atoutai on Tongatapu, at about 10pm on 12 February 2019. No suspect had been arrested and police said their investigation was continuing.
🇹🇴 Fonongahina, near Sia'atoutai, Tongatapu, Tonga
Police seized 29 cannabis plants from a bush allotment at Fonongahina, near
Sia’atoutai on Tongatapu, on 12 February 2019.[1]
The police Drugs Enforcement Taskforce made the seizure at around 10:00pm.[2]
No suspect had been arrested, and police said the investigation continued.[2]
Deputy Commissioner Pelenatita Vaisuai said police were committed to disrupting
and detecting the supply of drugs, and to holding those responsible to account.[2]
Police asked anyone with information about drug offending to contact the nearest
police station or ring 23417 or 922.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Polotu ‘Aho Halalilo was found guilty in Tonga’s Supreme Court on three counts including possessing 1.14 grams of cannabis, alongside methamphetamine charges. His sentencing was adjourned pending an appeal expected in March 2027.
‘Atunaisa Kali, 50, was convicted on two cannabis-possession counts after police found 508.78 g of cannabis and cannabis branches in his Popua bedroom. Co-accused Mele Vakatapu, 24, was acquitted, and Kali is expected to be sentenced in December.
Police seized 2,665 cannabis plants at Mataika in Vava'u on 24 September 2018 and charged seven people. Media called it Tonga's largest cannabis bust at the time, though a 2017 raid at Matahau had found 3,894 plants.
Police seized 3,894 cannabis plants from six bush allotments at Matahau and Fou'i on 4 May 2017 and arrested eight men. Four were sentenced on 7 June 2018. It appears to have been larger than the Vava'u bust that media later called Tonga's biggest.