The cultivation of illicit drugs on ‘Eua is out of control, local people claimed this week.
The claims follow the seizure of more than 200 cannabis plants and the handing in of 16,000 marijuana seeds to police.
Callers to a radio talkback show on Tuesday have said ʻEua was the biggest point for the supply of cannabis plants in the kingdom.
A woman told the Tonga Broadcasting Broadcom talkback show the cultivation of cannabis in ‘Eua was widespread.
She told the host there were rumours going around in the island that a huge crop of cannabis plants was grown in a “luo” (pit) which was widely known to local residents.
She claimed only the growers knew how to get down into the pit.
Police seized 249 cannabis plants in a bush allotment on ʻEuaʻs Lokupo island on April 10.
A 45-year-old man was arrested and has been charged with five counts in relation to the cultivation and possession of illicit drugs.
Police said they uprooted 13 plants that were about a metre tall, while the rest were still at the nursery stage.
The accused has been charged with five counts of growing and possessing illicit drug for supply.
Callers to the online radio, including Tongans from Australia and New Zealand, said the supply of illicit drugs in the country was out of control.
They raised the fact that children and women had become involved in drug dealing.
As Kaniva News reported earlier, a 14-year-old boy and a 36-year-old woman were among five people were arrested last week and charged in relation to possession and supply of marijuana.
There were unconfirmed reports on social media recently that two students at a church college in Tongatapu were found selling marijuana.
Some callers suggested the army should take over the task of fighting against drug-related violence. They claimed the Police were not doing enough to clamp down the crimes.
One caller from Kolomotuʻa claimed young people from the Nukuʻalofa suburb used to drink day and night at a corner in the area where she lived.
She claimed the youth sold drugs and had hung a shoe down from an electric power line as a signal to those who wanted to buy drugs.
Police seized 458 cannabis plants on the island in November.
ʻEua Police reportedly said that on April 17 somebody walked in and handed over a sack containing about 16,000 cannabis seeds.
The man claimed he found it on a road near Lokupo. Police are still investigating that finding.
Last year Prime Minster ʻAkilisi Pohiva told a meeting in Auckland some of the most violent crimes in Tonga involved people taking illicit drugs.
The main points
- The cultivation of illicit drugs on ‘Eua is out of control, local people claimed this week.
- The claims follow the seizure of more than 200 cannabis plants and the handing in of 16,000 marijuana seeds to police.
- Callers to a radio talkback show on Tuesday were said ʻEua was the biggest point for the supply of cannabis plants in the kingdom.
- She told the host there were rumours going around in the island that a huge crop of cannabis plants was grown in a “luo” (pit) which was widely known to local residents.
