Package at airport found to allegedly contain Methamphetamine

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On or about October 16, 2024, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) was contacted by the Customs regarding alleged illegal substances detected during an inspection at the Pago Pago International Airport (hereinafter the Airport).

The suspect was later arrested and charged after a police investigation with:

Count 1: Unlawful Possession of Controlled Substance With Intent to Distribute (Methamphetamine), a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than 5 years, nor more than 20 years, a fine of up to $20,000 or both imprisonment and fine;

Count 2: Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine), a felony punishable by a fine of not less than $5,000, and not more than $20,000, a term of imprisonment of not less 5 five years, nor more than 10 years, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 3: Unlawful Importation of Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine), a felony punishable by a fine not in excess of $5,000, a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both imprisonment and fine.

The defendant’s bail was set at $60,000.

According to the affidavit, on or about Oct. 16th, the DPS was alerted by the Customs that they had discovered a substance they presumed to be illegal during a package inspection at the Airport.

The investigation stated that an individual by the name of Mark Atafua (suspect) had sent three packages to the territory, all which were addressed to AMA Technology, a business that is owned and operated by the suspect.

Customs investigators revealed that a freight aircraft arrived on Oct. 14, 2024 bringing cargo to the territory, which included the three packages sent by Atafua, with Island Cargo Support (ICS) as shipping agent.

The ICS agent explained that all the cargo from the aircraft was unloaded and taken to the Fax Cargo Services (FCS) yard at the Airport.

After collecting all of ICS air freight orders and shipments from FCS, which included Atafua's three packages, the cargo was transported to ICS’ place of business (warehouse & office) in the Industrial Park and secured there overnight.

The investigator explained that on Oct. 15, 2024 at about 10:30 a.m, the Customs Inspection Unit visited the ICS warehouse to perform a standard inspection of ICS air freight cargo that had arrived the night before, on Oct. 14, 2024.

And, it was during a review of the documents of Atafua’s three packages that a discrepancy with the packages was discovered. They identified that the stated weight measurements differed from what Customs gauged their measurements should be:

“The invoice submitted to Customs indicated that each box weighed 27 kg, however the actual approximate weight of each package was: 31 kg, for a package containing a large Sony speaker; 21.50 kg, for a package containing an office chair; and 29 kg, for a package containing a printer.”

The packages were then seized from ICS and transported to the Customs office- Tafuna for further investigation.

“Scans of each box were conducted, and a green cloud-like image was observed on the scan of the package that contained the printer,” according to the affidavit. This led to the packages being retained by Customs at their office “to await further inspection”, as based on the Inspection Unit’s training and experience, “an electronic item that presents a scan with a hue of green necessitates a thorough inspection of the item.”

On Oct.16th, an ICS representative (rep) arrived at the Customs office in Tafuna and was informed by the Customs inspection supervisor that a thorough inspection of the boxes was to be conducted and his presence was requested.

The ICS rep noted that Atafua was still off island in California. He was then asked to witness the inspection, to which he consented.

“Upon opening the box that contained a printer, a white ROSS shopping bag was discovered inside the paper tray compartment of the printer. Inside were three clear sealed bags of crystalline substances. Inside the toner compartment a JCPENNEY shopping bag was discovered, and inside were an additional three clear sealed bags of crystalline substances. In total, the crystalline substances discovered amounted to more or less six (6) pounds.”

On the same day, one of the officers accompanied one of the police sergeants and witnessed the crystalline substances discovered in the two shopping bags tested using a Methamphetamine Field Test Kit. The test yielded positive results for the controlled substance Methamphetamine (meth).

The affidavit states that on Oct. 18, 2024, the police sergeant called the local phone number provided by ICS for AMA Technology Nu’uuli, and spoke to Mr. Mark Atafua. The sergeant requested a meeting to interview him regarding the packages that had been seized and he consented.

On that same date, police officers met with Atafua at the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) where he was informed “that he was not in custody and that he was free to leave at any time during the interview.”

Atafua was then informed of the discovery of meth in one of the three packages that he had shipped to the territory from California.

The suspect confirmed that had indeed shipped three boxes from California but he claimed he was not aware that the packages were being held by Customs.

The suspect explained that ICS serves as the carrier for his business and was “thus authorized to pick up the packages upon their arrival.”

Atafua also stated that he was not aware of the discovery of meth inside his packages. He was shown a photograph of the packaged printer box that contained the alleged illegal substance, and the suspect confirmed that it was the printer he sent.

However, Atafua claimed that “when he picked up the printer from the store it only had a single strand of tape sealing the top of the box, and that the appearance as shown in the photograph had since changed due to the fact that more tape had been added to the box after it had left his custody.”

He also confirmed the contents of the other two packages he sent, as they had been “purchased online and he later picked them up in-store.”

He further stated that “he felt someone was setting him up because he was running for local office as a district representative in the upcoming 2024 election.”

The interview was discontinued and the suspect left on his own free will.

On Oct. 21st, one of the lead Customs officials agreed to be interviewed at the TPS and later submitted a written statement describing in detail the recent phone calls he received from the suspect.

He stated that while the suspect was off island, the suspect called and asked for help in securing the release of the three packages being held by Customs for inspection.

The Customs official explained that he received a phone call on Tuesday, Oct. 15th, from an off-island number. He stated that this was the first time he had ever received a call or communicated with the Atafua via telephone. He continued that he received additional calls from the suspect on the same day in which the suspect pleaded and begged him for help in releasing the boxes from Customs’ custody.

The lead official assured the suspect that it was only a routine inspection conducted by Customs on incoming cargo.

The official during the interview stated that on Oct. 16th, at around 9:57 a.m, the suspect again contacted him from the same off island number but he didn’t answer as he was in a meeting with Customs officials.

In addition, he explained that the same number attempted to contact him several more times, on Oct. 16th, but he refused all the calls once he had been briefed by the Customs inspection supervisor of the nature of the situation. The official stated that the suspect called him on Oct. 15 and 16, using the same phone number.

During the suspect’s interview on Oct. 18th, he was shown the phone number that was printed on the ICS invoice for the packages shipped, and he confirmed that it was his phone number. It was the same off island phone number Atafua used to contact the lead Customs official.

On Nov. 20, 2024, the District Court issued a search warrant for the unopened packages, listed on the ICS invoice.

On the same date, DPS contacted the suspect via phone as a courtesy call to notify him that they planned to conduct a complete inspection and search of the two unopened packages. The suspect told the authorities that he was tied up and he couldn’t be present for inspection.

On Nov. 22, 2024, the suspect was contacted again by DPS from the Customs Airport office — a courtesy call — that the DPS and Customs planned to search the two packages. In response, the suspect stated “he felt this incident had caused damage to his name and reputation and added that he had no knowledge of it until he was officially informed during his interview at the Police station on October 18.”

On that same date, DPS confiscated the suspect’s two unopened packages from the Customs Airport office and took them to the TPS where they were opened and thoroughly searched in the presence of Customs officers. DPS did not find any illegal substances in these two packages and the items were repacked and sealed, with the findings recorded.

The affidavit does not state if or when Atafua was arrested or charged. The affidavit does support the Warrant for Arrest and Order To Appear of the suspect.

Both the warrant and affidavit are dated Nov. 27, 2024 and are each signed by the same District Court judge.