Tonga’s fight against methamphetamine appears to be bearing fruit—at least on paper. Police Minister Piveni Piukala announced this week that meth seizures have plunged by 98.8%, a drop he credits to intensified anti-drug operations and tighter enforcement across the kingdom.
The statement comes in the wake of a series of high-profile raids, including one that saw a probationary police constable arrested on suspicion of dealing methamphetamine. Authorities have targeted hidden docks, swooped in on clandestine labs, and launched joint missions with military and customs units to break trafficking networks.
Authorities previously raised alarms about the growth in methamphetamine trafficking in the country. They claimed that Tonga had become a key node in a growing “meth superhighway”—a trafficking corridor traversing the Pacific feeding a domestic market.
“Methamphetamine is tearing apart our communities,” an International Red Cross worker who asked not to be named, told Talking Drugs. “This is no longer a threat. It’s already here.”
Changing patterns
Since 2018, Tongan law enforcement has seized over 97 kilograms of meth, with more than half happening just in the past two years. In August 2024, police operations netted 6.1kg of meth, firearms, cash, and gang regalia tied to the Comancheros, an Australian motorcycle gang. 17 people were arrested, including a customs officer and a prison guard.
Investigators believe the meth was imported with help from deported gang members from Australia and New Zealand. One trafficker admitted to smuggling 10kg loads of meth and cocaine from Los Angeles, bribing officials along the way.
Methamphetamine can sell for up to T$1,000 per gram (US$420) in Tonga, one of the highest prices for the substance worldwide.
“Everybody loves money,” he told Talanoa o Tonga from prison. “That’s why it happened.”
Breaking point
Tonga’s public health system has been struggling to deal with methamphetamine harms. Chief psychiatrist Dr. Mapa Puloka said that up to 70% of monthly psychiatric admissions are linked to drug use, mainly meth. With no specialist addiction services, methamphetamine-induced psychosis is rising, with little recourse to treatment.
Tonga currently has no dedicated rehabilitation centre, relying instead on a single, overstretched public mental health facility to address drug addiction. The kingdom’s only trained drug counsellor, Ned Cook, was killed in May 2020—leaving the position unfilled ever since.
Patients with severe meth addiction are typically channeled into general psychiatric wards, where many beds are occupied by substance-related admissions—or are left entirely untreated due to resource constraints. As one head psychiatrist noted in 2021, up to 70% of ward admissions stem from drug or cannabinoid use, with some patients forced to sleep on the hospital corridor floor due to overcrowding.
Do or die
Tonga’s government has leaned on punitive policies. In 2020, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act introduced mandatory life sentences and fines up to T$1 million for serious Class A drug offences. In 2024, Parliament engaged in a rare public debate over reinstating the death penalty for traffickers, a motion that was ultimately defeated by a 38–8 vote.
This represents a third attempt to extend capital punishment to drug offenses—following similar, unsuccessful efforts in 2004 and 2021. The government justified the proposal by pointing to escalating methamphetamine challenges, citing recent trafficking incidents and the 2020 law’s shortcomings in deterring organized drug networks .
Harm Reduction International (HRI) responded to the debate, calling on Tonga’s Government “to seek alternate methods to combat drug-related crimes, grounded in evidence and human rights, and to fully abolish this cruel punishment.”
Tradition and legacy
Tonga’s meth crisis is rooted in more than geography. Colonial-era laws, underdeveloped regional policy, and strong Christian values have long framed drug use as a sin, not a health issue. This has stifled the emergence of harm reduction interventions in the nation: HRI’s global analysis of harm reduction interventions has not found any evidence of needle exchanges, stimulant prescriptions or any state efforts to document the prevalence of bloodborne viruses connected to drug use.
Education on drug addiction remains controversial. In Tonga, drug use is often seen as a curse or moral failing, according to the Red Cross worker, leading families to hide problems instead of seeking help. Religious leaders often urge abstinence but have only recently begun to speak publicly about addiction.
In 2021, King Tupou VI convened a national drug symposium, urging a more compassionate approach to drug use, while still aiming for a drug-free Tonga. He laid out four pillars for Tonga’s response: enforcement, education, treatment, and values. While the government allocated millions toward bolstering enforcement—an additional T$5 million for police-led action—the remaining pillars, especially treatment and demand reduction, have seen far less investment or operational support.
Regional crisis, global reach
Tonga is far from alone in its fight against methamphetamine. A 2023 Lowy Institute report warned that Pacific nations are increasingly exposed to transnational crime and remain neglected by global drug frameworks.
The region’s exapnsive waterways and under-resourced borders have made it a prime target for syndicates shifting multi-tonne meth shipments by sea. “Criminal organisations specifically target our region because they understand our enforcement limitations across vast maritime territories,” Udit Singh, OCO Chairperson and Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) Chief executive officer told Talanoa o Tonga.
Australia has boosted policing aid, while the US has offered naval patrol support to help island nations intercept traffickers. But experts cited by the Lowy Institute caution that enforcement alone won’t keep up with syndicates’ growing reach and the lack of health infrastructure in the islands.
“We’re witnessing unprecedented coordination between drug cartels, organised criminal groups and regional networks designed to exploit our geographic vulnerabilities,” Nancy T. Oraka, OCO Head of Secretariat told Talanoa o Tonga.
What next?
Locals are pushing back. Church leaders preach about addiction from the pulpit—Tonga’s largest denomination quietly supports meth users to reintegrate—while returnee deportees have founded peer groups like ‘Dare to Dream’ to welcome and counsel newcomers. At the village level, officers are networked into community patrols and drawing on customary justice models—imposing public apologies, fines, and other bylaws to deter drug trafficking.
But without real investment in healthcare, education, and harm reduction, these grassroots efforts may not be enough. Civil society leaders stress the need for long-term support, including training addiction specialists and funding public education campaigns.
Tonga’s announcement of recent drug seizures will be comforting news to some, though the reality of the situation remains unclear. Fewer seizures may mean less meth coming in, but they also might mean that smugglers are more successfully avoiding police controls. Whether lower seizures will translate into less harm for the Tongan people remains to be seen.
“The genie is out of the bottle,” said the Red Cross worker. “Tonga has a narrow window to contain this crisis—not through punishment, but through care.”
