A Vava’u town officer is concerned about the safety of his residents after Police discovered a mysteriously damaged boat at Moloa beach.
The Vava’u police were at the scene, said Uele Moala, the Hōleva town officer.
Moala said the discovery was “baffling” while he has been following up the incident so he can update the residents.
Police could not be reached for comment.
Moala had been curious in the past and regularly reported on ships and boats which unexpectedly appeared at their sea zone.
The discovery comes after a Supreme Judge said Vava’u was a transit point in Tonga for drug dealers.
In 2021 the Police seized a raft and bricks of cocaine found at Vava’u’s ‘Otualea beach.
It followed reports of a cargo ship being spotted anchoring off the island’s coast.
Moala told Kaniva News at the time the presence of the ship was suspicious.
He said it was claimed the ship was awaiting a pilot but that was strange to happen in that particular sea area.
He said he complained to the authority about that incident.
Justice Cooper in sentencing seven nationals including foreigners in relation to the ‘Otualea drug seizure said: “In all likelihood Vava’u was, or still is, being used as a staging post for a drugs cartel or cartels involved in the international supply of cocaine”.
