Polotu ‘Aho Halalilo was found guilty on three charges by Lord Chief Justice Malcolm Bishop KC in a written verdict delivered last month.[1] His sentencing was adjourned pending an appeal expected to be heard in March 2027.[1]
The charges included possessing 1.14 grams of cannabis.[1] Police found that cannabis on a shelf on the veranda of his residence in Kolomotu’a.[1] The other charges involved supplying 3.97 grams of methamphetamine and possessing 11.93 grams of methamphetamine.[1] A search of his vehicle had uncovered further methamphetamine weighing 7.96 grams concealed behind the steering wheel.[1]
The case arose from a police operation on 27 April 2020 at a car wash in Kolofo’ou, next to the residence of Nasif Ali, who worked there.[1] Ali told police he had purchased methamphetamine from Halalilo.[1] Police then asked Ali to telephone Halalilo and order another consignment, and Ali requested four grams of methamphetamine.[1] Inspector Vi saw Halalilo arrive in a yellow car and hand Ali a transparent plastic bag containing two loaves of bread before driving away.[1] The package was handed to Inspector Vi, who found four small bags of methamphetamine concealed inside one loaf.[1] Police followed Halalilo and apprehended him in the Basilica Church car park with assistance from a police dog team.[1] The court rejected the entrapment argument, finding Halalilo had not been pressured or coerced and was unaware of police involvement.[1] The court also rejected the argument that the delay between the 2020 offences and the 2026 decision justified stopping the prosecution.[1] The judge accepted the drug analyst’s evidence that the substances had been correctly identified as methamphetamine and cannabis.[1]