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.
On 24 January 2024, gendarmes from Tubuai seized 298 cannabis plants in the
commune of Mataura.[1]The gendarmerie of French Polynesia announced the
operation on social networks as a new seizure of paka at Tubuai in Mataura.[1]Four individuals were implicated in connection with the seizure of the 298
plants.[1]
The operation was carried out by gendarmes from Tubuai in Mataura.[1]The
account gives the seizure total as 298 pieds of cannabis, the French term for
cannabis plants.[1]The same account names Mataura as the commune where the
plants were found and seized.[1]
In the same update, the gendarmerie said it had already seized and destroyed 848
cannabis plants in total since the start of 2024.[1]That 848-plant figure was
presented as the cumulative French Polynesia total, not as the Mataura seizure
alone.[1]The Mataura seizure was described as a new seizure within that
ongoing 2024 enforcement activity.[1]Paka is the term the gendarmerie used in
its announcement for the plants seized at Mataura.[1]
Photos and video
Gendarmerie photo of young cannabis plants in black pots seized at Mataura. Photo: Gendarmerie de Polynésie françaisePhoto details
The four individuals are described only as mis en cause; no arrest, custody, charge or court outcome was reported.
No weight, cultivated area, valuation or destruction method for the 298 plants was published.
Only one accessible source for this event was found; the linked gendarmerie social-media post could not be opened separately and no second outlet account was found.
The 848-plant figure is a cumulative year-to-date gendarmerie total for French Polynesia and is excluded from figures, which record only the 298-plant Mataura seizure.
No further enforcement step for the four individuals, such as charges or a trial, was reported.
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.
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.
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.
