The man charged after the seizure of 1.9 kilograms of methamphetamine at Fua‘amotu International Airport in 2018 will appear at the Supreme Court in October 2019.
Viliami Mangisi, 59, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of possession of Class A drugs (methamphetamine), attempted export of illicit drugs and failure to make declaration to Customs Officer, local media have reported.
The Tongan-US passport holder allegedly attempted to export the drugs from Tonga to New Zealand on May 8, 2018. Police said the meth had an estimated street value of around $2 million pa’anga.
On a separate note, 10 men arrested in Hofoa during Easter weekend in a drugs operation will appear in court in July 29.
Police had released five of them last week on bail.
The Drug Taskforce seized 30 packs of methamphetamine (24.07 grams), 9 packs of cannabis (2.88 grams), drugs paraphernalia, 4 live .22 bullets and cash during the operation.
