By Linny Folau
A Supreme Court judge has convicted a man of arranging the transport of more than five kilograms of methamphetamine, while acquitting his co-accused, in a case involving the evidence of police informants in Nuku'alofa.
Teau ‘i Mo’unga Faletau, 43, was found guilty of engaging in dealings with others to transport 5,846.98 grams of methamphetamine in 2024, while co-defendant Mafi Fatongiatau Lutui was acquitted of a similar charge.
Lord Chief Justice Malcolm Bishop delivered the verdict on 24 March in a 29-page written ruling, concluding the evidence proved Faletau’s role beyond reasonable doubt but fell short in Lutui’s case.
After hearing the evidence, the judge said he was satisfied to the criminal standard on the first count against Faletau but not on the second count against Lutui. He emphasized that the differing outcomes were not contradictory.
“I desire to make plain that there is no inconsistency between my verdicts… each count must be considered separately as must the case against each defendant,” he said, adding that evidence against one accused does not automatically apply to another.
The court heard key testimony from police informant ‘Ofisi Ake, a baggage handler supervisor at Fua’amotu Airport, who said Faletau had approached him before the COVID lockdown and later proposed working together due to his access to aircraft.
The judge found Faletau had cultivated a relationship with the witness partly because of his airport role, which enabled goods to be placed on planes without inspection.
About two weeks before 5 April 2024, Ake said Faletau asked if he was willing to carry out a “hit,” which he understood to mean transporting methamphetamine to New Zealand. He agreed, and communications continued in the days leading up to the offending.
On 5 April, Ake described encountering Faletau in a blue rental vehicle before a separate vehicle later delivered a bag to his home containing 13 packages. He transferred the contents into a school bag and hid it in a drum before police arrived shortly after and searched the premises.
Indemnified witness
Ake then cooperated with police, immediately identifying the drugs’ location and stating they belonged to Faletau. The court noted he was an indemnified witness who avoided prosecution in exchange for his assistance.
The judge cautioned that both Ake and another informant, Joseph Taufa, were “participating informants” whose evidence required careful scrutiny, particularly given their personal motivations.
He described Ake’s cooperation as a “panicked reaction” from someone caught “red-handed” and acting to protect himself but ultimately found his account credible and reliable.
The court also considered an alternative suggestion that the drugs may have been linked to the Comanchero gang, described as a violent criminal group involved in drug dealing. However, the judge questioned why Ake would falsely implicate Faletau, a friend, instead of naming someone else if that were the case.
“I am quite satisfied that he was telling the truth when he said that the first defendant asked him to receive a package of drugs,” the judge said.
Faletau denied any involvement, arguing his communications with Ake related to a legitimate freight arrangement for his export business and that the informants were unreliable and motivated to falsely implicate him. He also alleged improper police conduct.
Lutui similarly denied the charge, arguing he could not be reliably identified as the person delivering the drugs and pointing to inconsistencies in the evidence, including CCTV placing him elsewhere.
In acquitting Lutui, the judge said the evidence did not meet the required standard of proof.
“I say nothing as to its truthfulness… he may be telling the truth, but I cannot be sure to the criminal standard,” he said, concluding that he must acquit on that basis.
The court ultimately found Faletau guilty on the first count and Lutui not guilty on the second, reaffirming that each charge and defendant must be assessed independently.
