9 September 2026 Apia Samoa. Police have identified drug-related offending across all eight urban districts of Upolu, with Vaimauga 4 recording the highest number of people arrested and prosecuted for drug offences.
Updated figures provided by Police show 228 people have been arrested and prosecuted across the eight urban Upolu districts of Vaimauga and Faleata.
The figures highlight what Police describe as the widespread presence of illegal drugs in urban Upolu.
Vaimauga 4 recorded the highest number, with 80 people arrested and prosecuted since Police raids in December 2025. Vaimauga 4 alone represents 35% of all arrests.
Vaimauga 3 recorded the second highest number of arrests with 54 or 24% of the total.
The figures show a significant concentration of arrests in Vaimauga 3 and 4. These two districts together account for 134 of the 228 people recorded — almost 59 percent of the total.
Faleata 2 recorded 26, while Faleata 1 and Faleata 3 each recorded 24.
Vaimauga 1 and Vaimauga 2 each recorded eight, while Faleata 4 had the lowest figure with 4.
What is not clear from the numbers, however, is the success rate of prosecutions. How many arrests were successfully prosecuted.
Prevalent Presence of Illegal Drugs
Police say even the smallest figures are significant because they indicate the presence of illegal drugs within those communities.
Police said the figures demonstrate that none of Upolu’s eight urban districts has escaped the impact of illegal drugs. “E foliga mai o lea e aafia uma itumalo ia e valu..”
“It appears that all eight districts are affected,” Police said.
“E leai ma se isi o itumalo ia e lē o aafia i fualaau faasāina.”
Police say the lower figures recorded in some districts should not be interpreted as meaning those communities are free from the problem.
“E tasi pe lua tagata e maua i fualaau faasāina, o lona uiga e ta’u mai ai, o le la ua iai fualaau faasāina i totonu o itumalo ta’itasi ia.”
“Even if just one or two people are found with illegal drugs, that tells us that drugs are already present within that particular district.”
Police said the concern was therefore not simply about which district had the highest number of arrests.
“Whether the number is small or large, what it confirms, is that illegal drugs are present within our districts.”
“Pe laititi pe telē le fuainumera, a‘o le faamautinoaina ua iai fualaau faasāina i totonu o tatou itumalo.”
The figures have prompted Police to challenge villages and districts to consider what they are doing to protect their communities.
“The question is, where is the protection for each of our districts and villages?”
“O le fesili, o fea lea e malu ai o tatou itumalo ma nuu taitasi?”
Samoa Police have stressed the importance of working together as a community.
“Combating illegal drugs cannot be left to law enforcement alone.”
Police are calling on village and district leaders, families and communities to examine their own response.
“Are we doing enough? What are we actually doing?”
“O fai ea se tatou galuega, o ā ea a tatou mea o fai?”
Police also referred to the important role communities and the wider public must play in preventing the distribution and use of illegal drugs.
With arrests and prosecutions now recorded across every district of Upolu, Police say the figures should serve as a warning that the drug problem is not confined to particular areas, and that tackling it will require the involvement of communities in a whole-of-nation approach.
Faasalalauga Tāua: Lesitalaina o Fanau i Savaii
Alofa Grace is an Intern Reporter and Photographer with Samoa Global News. Alofa Grace is passionate about sharing stories and capturing real moments. She is a graduate of Maluafou College and hopes to continue a career as a Journalist.
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