‘Asaeli Teulilo (32) is serving eight months imprisonment for possessing 1.3 grams of cocaine and 0.1 gram of cannabis.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten QC sentenced Teulilo on March 2 at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court. The accused changed his plea from not guilty to guilty.

The illicit drugs were seized on September 3, 2019 by a team from the Police Drug Enforcement Taskforce, Tactical Response Group and Dog Detector unit during a search without a warrant at a property in Ngele'ia.

During the search, the accused arrived at the property in a motor vehicle. Upon searching the vehicle, crumbs of cocaine and a test tube were found.

The accused told police that it was his 'leftover'. The same team then carried out a search at the home of the accused's de facto partner in 'Anana.

When they arrived at the other property, the accused argued with the police that as it was not his house he would not enter it. Police waited for the accused's partner to arrive. During that search, police found cocaine and cannabis.

The accused's partner disavowed any knowledge or ownership of the drugs. The accused told police that they belonged to him.

The drugs were tested and found to be cocaine weighing 1.3g and cannabis weighing 0.1g.

Harsher penalties

The accused was employed during the day at his partner's business as a warehouse manager. However, since 2018, he worked at night as a DJ. He first got involved with illicit drugs in 2019 while working as a DJ.

The Chief Justice said he professed to being "clean" meaning he had not used any illicit drugs for the last three to four months. “However, his constant sniffing and slurred speech cast some doubt on that,” he said.

He had also not received any counselling or attended any rehabilitation programs.

The Chief Justice said that under recent amendments to the Act, any offences committed after November 26, 2020, involving more than 0.25 grams of a class A drug (cocaine/metamphatamine) are to be deemed as supply for which harsher penalties than mere possession may be expected.

“This accused’s case is simply another unfortunate tale of, here, a mature man who has some life experience and has been earning a sizeable income, a part of which he pays to support his family, succumbing to illicit drugs.

“While cocaine is perhaps not as prevalent in Tonga as methamphetamine, it is of the same class under the Act with the same ultimate destructive potential, not just for the user, but others associated with him.

“In those circumstances, I agree with the Crown's submission that only partial suspension is appropriate,” said the Chief Justice.

The accused was sentenced to 14-months imprisonment. Howver, the final six months are suspended for one year, on conditions that he is to complete a drugs awareness course and receive drugs counselling within prison and rehabilitation support, among other requirements.