The 12th defendant to be sentenced for being involved in distributing a portion of a salvaged shipment of cocaine washed up in Vava'u in 2021, was sentenced five and a half-years' imprisonment, partially suspended, for engaging in dealings with another person to transfer a Class A illicit drug to Tongatapu.
Andrew Motuliki (28) was sentenced to seven and a half-years imprisonment for supplying cocaine that washed up on beaches in Vava’u in 2021. The court heard that he played a significant role, when he involved others for reward, as he had some understanding of the scale of the operation.
Eight local people in Vava’u were sentenced to between three years to 13.5 years imprisonment for their opportunistic roles in handling blocks of cocaine from a large shipment, found washed up on 'Otualea Beach there in 2021. They were caught in an investigation that started when children at Holeva picked up a brick of cocaine on the beach and handed it in to authorities.