Matangi Tonga, Vol. 18, No. 3

The Tonga government has introduced one of the heaviest penalties for drug offenders imposed by any government in the region.

A fine not exceeding $1 million pa'‘anga (about USD$500,000) or 30 years imprisonment or both may be imposed on any person convicted of importing or exporting illicit drugs. While possession, cultivation, use or supply of illicit drugs, including marijuana, can now incur a maximum fine of $750,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 25 years.

The Act to Control Illicit Drugs, Controlled Chemicals and Equipment was signed into law by the Prince Regent Tupouto'a on October 23, and Gazetted in November.

The new penalties replace Tonga's 1988 Illicit Drugs Control Act which gave a maximum fine of $10,000 or five years in prison for import and export, and. a maximum fine of $1000 or two years in prison for possession.

In recent years a large quantity of illicit cocaine was discovered in a container in Tonga while being transhipped to the metropolitan centres in the region, and in the past regional police intelligence has indicated trans-national crime syndicates had been operating through Pacific nations since the early 1990s and have on occasions used Tonga as a transhipment port.

The new law comes into effect as Tonga is expanding its international air links within the region and to the USA.