Arriving passenger abandons 2kg marijuana on Fua'amotu carousel [1]
Wednesday, February 8, 2006 - 15:26. Updated on Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - 14:58.
A suitcase containing two kilograms of what is thought to be marijuana was abandoned on the inward carousel at Tonga's Fua'amotu Airport on Saturday, February 4, after an Air Pacific flight from Fiji was selected by customs officers for special scrutiny.
The owner of the suitcase, who had left the airport in a hurry, was located and is being held in custody by the police.
Lee Degan, the head of the Tongan Customs said that the abandoned suitcase was discovered during a border security exercise by customs officers. The passengers of the flight that arrived in Tonga about mid-day were targeted to be given a thorough check over on their arrival.
Lee said that during the process of checking, the owner of the suitcase obviously got nervous and rushed out of the airport without his suitcase. The suitcase was handed over to the police who made contact with the owner and got him to come to the station and open up the case for inspection, and there "they found two kilos of a banned substance, a plant".
Lee said that the owner of the suitcase, is a Tongan national who has been held in custody while the banned substance was sent away to be tested for identification.
The seizure of the two kilos of banned substance was considered by Lee and the customs department as a great success to their Border Security Operation, which was launched two weeks ago. "It was not a fluke, there was an operation plan," said Lee.
The operation was initiated by the Customs Department and Lee said that it covered all border entries, both at the airport and in the harbours. Last Friday, there was a joint exercise by custom officers and the Tongan Navy, using the patrol boats of the Tonga Defence Service. Lee said that during the operation, custom officers have been working very closely with the police and the community.
Lee, an Australian, became the head of the Tongan Customs Department in August 2005, in an attempt by the Tongan government to stamp out illegal practices at the wharf and at airports. Among the new initiatives that Lee has worked on is a new Customs Bill, which will be presented to parliament this year. She said that she would like customs officers to get more involved in the prosecution of offenders, instead of just identifying infringements and then handing it all over to the police.
Tonga introduced heavy penalties for drugs offences in 2003, allowing fines of up to $1 million and prison terms of up to 30 years for importing illicit drugs. The new law also introduced fines of up to $750 or prison terms of up to 25 years for the use of illicit drugs in Tonga .