Viliami Mangisi (60) was sentenced to 12-years six-months imprisonment for possession and attempting to export 1.9 kilograms methamphetamine, when he was arrested at Fua‘amotu International Airport, in 2018.

Mangisi (also known as Kini) from Ha‘avakatolo, who was residing in the United States, had pleaded not guilty to the two counts.

After a trial at the Supreme Court, a jury in an unanimous decision found him guilty on October 23.

Hon Mr Justice Cato, during sentencing on November 22, said Mangisi who gave evidence in the trial denied any corrupt behaviour with his accomplice, Mr Fonua. Despite his conviction Mangisi continued to maintain his innocence.

An accomplice, Fonua is currently serving jail time, after pleading guilty to possession of the illicit drug.

However, Mangisi maintained that what he had been carrying in his bag was Tongan tobacco and that the Police had switched this with the bags of drugs, in a room at the airport, when he was arrested.

This was rejected by the jury, who found him guilty of his offences.

Evil trade

Hon Mr Justice Cato in sentencing Mangisi to 12-years six-months imprisonment, did not suspend any part of the sentence.

He said, the circumstances of the offending were very serious and as a consequence of a police operation involving his accomplice, who cooperated with police, Mangisi was arrested at the airport, when he was about to board a plane to New Zealand.

His accomplice, who was a long term employed cleaner at the airport, gave evidence for the Crown against him.

The judge said, in this case the amount of drugs involved was more than 1.9 kilograms. This brought him plainly within the top end of the range of eight to 16-years imprisonment, and cited a NZ Court of Appeal case, Zhang v R.

“It is plain that Mangisi was the mastermind who corruptly co-opted Fonua in his plan it seems for little or no reward,” he said.

"In my view, where the amount involved is just less than two grams and where the offender is the mastermind and has sought to inveigle another to assist, a condign sentence is required as deterrence and to protect society from offenders who participate in and promote this evil trade."

 The judge, said this was an amount of drug that had the potential to not only earn Mangisi a large sum of money, but to cause significant harm for consumers in New Zealand.

Mastermind

Before, imposing the sentence, the judge put a starting point of 14-years imprisonment.

He said this adequately reflected Mangisi's actions, which demonstrated a high level of planning, possession of a large amount of drug and his corrupt manipulation of a long term serving employee of the airport to assist him to avoid airport control.

“The defence counsel, Sifa Tu'utafaiva had correctly in my view, mentioned that the principal, if not only mitigating factors would be his age and the fact that he had no previous convictions. Standing on its own, I do not think that his age is a mitigating factor,” said the judge.

However, the judge allowed him some mitigation, and said although he has relatives in Tonga who may visit him, his life in prison will be made harder by the fact that his wife and family reside in America, and would probably visit him occasionally. 

Mangisi was then allowed 18-months mitigation of the 14-years imprisonment starting point.

This meant the prisoner is serving 12-years and six-months imprisonment for possession of methamphetamine.

On the second count of attempted export of the illicit drug, he was sentenced to five-years, served concurrently with the first count.

“He has not cooperated with authorities and has not accepted responsibility for his actions. In my view, he does not merit any part of his sentence being suspended.”

The judge then ordered for the methamphetamine to be destroyed as requested by the Crown.

The sentence was backdated to when Mangisi was first remanded in custody.

Probation report

The Sentencing noted that Mangisi was a first offender. He was born in Tonga and his father had been a doctor at Vaiola Hospital. He was the youngest of nine siblings, six of whom, including the accused became permanent residents of the United States, two in New Zealand and another remained in Tonga. At age 18, having left school early in the third form he was taken by a relative to America.  He worked as a cleaner in a restaurant and then for a decade for an airline, before starting a construction company for a number of years, before retiring. His probation report said he was retired in Los Angeles. He was a frequent traveller enjoying a discount because his daughter works for an airline. He has a wife and two daughters in the United States.