Man allegedly attempting to import illegal drugs charged with bribery

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man has been charged with bribing a customs agent and importing illegal drugs, and is currently being held on a bail amount of $50,000 at the Territorial Correctional Facility.

Kenneth Mauga-Lei faces several serious charges, including bribery of a public servant, concealing an offense, attempted possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, attempted possession of a controlled substance, and importation of contraband.

According to government allegations, in May of the previous year, Mauga-Lei contacted a customs agent and purportedly offered a bribe of $3,000 to facilitate the arrangement of a Post Office box for the shipment of a package. Following notification from the agent and his supervisor, Chief of Customs Elisara Elisara decided to collaborate with the customs agent to monitor the situation for any illicit activities.

American Samoa Customs coordinated efforts with the US Postal Service in Hawaii, which established a mailbox at the local Post Office for Mauga-Lei's use. The customs agent reported a belief that Mauga-Lei's request arose from a recent reassignment of postal agents, which had removed his prior point of contact.

The customs agent reported that Mauga-Lei asked for monitoring of the package after it was dispatched to the designated mailbox to ensure its arrival without detection by customs, thereby allowing someone else to retrieve it.

In July 2024, Mauga-Lei communicated with the customs agent, indicating that the package should have reached the local Post Office. He also provided the agent with a photograph of the box, which was identified as a Home Depot box adorned with handwritten sender and recipient address details. The sender was noted as Marcus Taito, while the recipient was specified as Tanu Solipo, with the sender’s address located in Lakewood, Washington.

This information, along with the associated tracking number, was submitted to the USPS inspector working in conjunction with local customs. On July 1, 2024, the postal inspector located the package at the USPS Honolulu Processing and Distribution Center and proceeded to remove it for further examination. That same day, the package was presented to the Honolulu Police Department's narcotics canine, PITT. The handler reported that PITT displayed noticeable changes in behavior, suggesting the presence of a controlled substance.

Upon inspection of the box, authorities discovered various candies and chocolates, two T-shirts, and two pairs of white shorts. Concealed beneath the candy and clothing, inspectors found five vacuum-sealed bags containing a white crystalline substance that subsequently tested positive for methamphetamine. A check of the sender and recipient information against a law enforcement database revealed that neither Marcus Taito at the listed sender address nor Tanu Solipo at the recipient address were legitimate contacts.

The estimated value of the methamphetamine discovered within the package ranged from $274,200 to $457,000.