Yesterday (Friday, 9 January 2026), three special raids by the Ministry of Police, Prisons and Corrections were carried out at Maota, Salelologa and Fa‘ala Palauli in Savai‘i, targeting people suspected of possessing and selling illegal drugs.
As a result of these raids, 12 people were detained, including three women and nine men.
Those arrested range in age from 15 to 50 years.
They are from the villages of Maota, Papaloloa in Salelologa, Sapulu, Fa‘ala Palauli, Nu‘u, Letogo, Vaisuu, Vaimoso and Vaitele-Uta.
During the raids, police seized illegal drugs, including methamphetamine (“ice”) and marijuana, as well as glass pipes used for smoking ice and powerful weapons that are prohibited under Samoa’s laws.
Deputy Police Commissioner Samuelu Afamasaga said that about 90 percent of those arrested in the operations are being held in custody and will appear in court to answer their charges next month, February 2026.
The Deputy Commissioner expressed his sadness at the ongoing increase in people being caught with illegal drugs, especially the rise in the number of young people involved in these offences.
He said it is important that the Government continues to take strong action to wipe out these criminal activities, because they affect the wellbeing of families and the future of Samoa.
Prevention is better than cure.
Note: This article, written in Samoan by Savali Newspaper reporter Pesetā Tusiga Taofiga, was originally published on the Savali Newspaper Facebook page and is republished here with permission.
