Three men allegedly violate local drug laws

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Three men, Eneliko Samuelu, Lui Taula and Lavea’i Filo made their initial appearances in Court last month, on drug charges.

Samuelu and Taula are each charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth), a felony.

Bail for Samuelu and Taula were each set at $5,000.

Filo is charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth; one count of unlawful possession of meth with the intent to distribute, and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, all felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than ten, a fine of up to $20,000, or both.

Bail for Filo is set at $10,000

THE CASE

The government alleges that on the early morning of Feb. 8, 2022, at around 5 a.m, traffic officers were conducting traffic control on the Tafuna public highway assisting their colleagues with a car accident that had occurred on the main road.

Traffic officers told investigators once they arrived at the scene they blocked off the road and advised numerous drivers to detour back to the Petesa roadway because the area was unsafe to pass due to the power lines downed on the main road.

However, one of the many vehicles ignored instructions and drove right past the police unit, so traffic officers called out to the driver of the vehicle to stop and the driver stopped about 4 feet in front of their police unit.

Officers approached the driver and advised him about the situation and the road block and that’s when officers noticed a box of beer with a bottle visible on the inside.

Officers questioned the driver as to why he didn’t stop but the driver appeared to be distressed.

Officers then advised the driver to turn his truck off and hand over the key. The driver was identified as Samuelu one of the 3 co-defendants in this matter. Officers also informed all three men inside the vehicle to step out from the vehicle.

They were then patted down for the safety of police officers, and during the process, one of the men, Lui Taula (co-defendant), was found to be concealing something in his left hand that was later identified as paraphernalia (a glass pipe) in white tissues. The glass pipe contained a white crystalline substance.

While escorting Taula to the police unit, Taula told the police officer that it is not fair for him to be locked up for the glass pipe when the driver also has a glass pipe containing meth hidden inside a pocket in the driver’s door.

The officer placed Taula inside the police unit and returned to the vehicle to check the driver’s door and discovered a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance inside. When confronted by officers about the glass pipe the driver, Samuelu strongly denied any knowledge about it. He told officers that he had nothing to do with the glass pipe.

All three men were then detained in cuffs and transported to the Tafuna Police Substation for further investigation. Traffic police officers also notified detectives of the DPS Vice and Narcotic K9 Unit (VNU) about drugs allegedly discovered during the stop.

Both white crystalline substances inside the glass pipes were later tested using a test kit and confirmed positive meth.

An inventory search was also conducted on the impounded vehicle with the driver Samuelu present. During the inventory search, another glass pipe was discovered under the passenger seat and a clear plastic baggie with white powder, and also a simoi baggie with green leafy substance was also found under the seat.

When questioned by investigators, Samuelu said the contents belonged to Lavea’i Filo, co-defendant, who was the person that was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle.

The residue inside the glass pipe under the seat together with the white powder found in the clear plastic baggie were tested and confirmed positive for meth. The green leafy substance was also tested and yielded positive for etrahydrocannabinol (THC), an active compound in marijuana.

Samuelu was Mirandized and later agreed to speak with investigators about the situation.

According to Samuelu he dropped off some friends at home and went straight to drop off Taula’s phone. He and Taula ended up going for a ride and picked up Filo

They then went straight to Vaitogi and bought meth from a man. Samuelu told investigators that he didn’t know that Filo had stuff on him, he didn’t say anything about his bag of weed or his meth.

Samuelu told investigators that Taula had his own glass pipe with him, and the glass pipe found in the driver’s door pocket belonged to him.

Filo was also Mirandized where he waived his rights and agreed to speak with investigators.

According to Filo, getting into drugs was a mistake for him, he had a friend and they played pool, and whoever wins gets $25. He said he won the challenge this time, but his friend didn’t have any cash, so he gave him a baggie of meth, instead. Filo allegedly said he decided not to smoke it but resell it to get money. He did not identify his friend.

Later that night when their car was stopped by police officers, he freaked out and tossed the drugs and the glass pipe under the seat. He added he only likes to smoke marijuana — but as for the white stuff — he doesn’t like it.

Taula was the last person interviewed by investigators regarding the glass pipe found on him. However, after being Mirandized, Taua stated that he understood his rights and refused to make a statement.

The three suspects were later transported to the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) where they were booked and confined.