A total of 24 people have been arrested and charged, to date,  in relation to the estimated 14 kilograms of cocaine seized in Vava‘u.

Three more people were charged with possession when additional cocaine seized in Tongatapu and Vava’u recently.

Tonga Police said today that two men were arrested on August 28 in Ma’ufanga.

They have been charged with possession of illicit drugs, after 437.94 grams and 2.27 grams were siezed in a plastic container and a small packet.

On August 30, a 27-year-old man from Ha'alaufuli was arrested and charged with possession of around 6.65 grams of illicit drugs, seized inside his vehicle and at a tax allotment in Leimatu’a.

Of the 24 arrested so far, five are in Tongatapu and 19 in Vava'u. 

The cocaine sized in these recent arrests is in addition to the 14 plus kilos that Tonga Police seized in the cocaine haul.

In July, the first cocaine packets that washed up on Vava’u beaches were handed over to police, prompting a big search operation with more of the illicit drug seized.