Grant O'Fee

Three Tongans have been deported from New Zealand while another person left voluntarily as a result of their criminal records being wiped-off by Tonga Police. Australia has also cancelled the visas of three Tongans while a fourth visa is being considered for cancellation. Meanwhile, the Tonga Police are continuing to investigate a practice that the Police Commissioner said had damaged Tonga’s reputation because official documents with the police letterhead were sent telling a lie to gain access to another country.

Two robbers who allegedly stole $10,000 cash in foreign currency after assaulting a woman shopkeeper at a Chinese shop in ‘Ohonua, ‘Eua on Friday night March 1, remain at large.

A six-year-old boy drowned at a public swimming pool on the seafront at Popua yesterday afternoon, January 21. This is the first death reported from drowning in Tonga for the New Year.

More than 200 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated street value of AUD $116 million dollars in Australia, was seized by Tongan authorities on the wreck of the ‘JeReVe’ yacht that ran aground on a reef off Luatafito Atoll in Vava’u. Police believe it to be one of the largest seizure of narcotics in the South Pacific region.