Former police boss wants drug network leaders arrested, not just couriers
May 28, 2026 10:51 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
By Hilaire Bule.
Former Police Commissioner Joshua Bong has called on the current Commissioner of Police, Kalshem Bongran, to redirect how the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) responds to drug trafficking cases.
Mr. Bong said arrests so far have mainly targeted drug couriers, illicit drugs and vessels, while those behind trafficking networks continue to operate.
He said police should focus beyond those physically transporting drugs and target those organising and financing the trade.
The call follows the second yacht seizure involving suspects by the VPF on Wednesday night.
Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Solomon Napuat confirmed the arrest of the vessel and its crew members.
Commissioner Bongran and the Police Media Unit were unable to comment on Mr. Bong’s remarks and details of the yacht yesterday.
However, a reliable source said the vessel is now anchored at Port Vila Harbour and investigations are ongoing.
A former police officer and investigator who declined to be named said more arrests of drug couriers are expected following stronger enforcement and increased penalties in Fiji.
He said Vanuatu and Solomon Islands have become transit points because penalties in those jurisdictions are lighter compared with Fiji.
The former officer said it would not be surprising if those arrested this week, along with two others detained in Havannah in March 2026, are later released.
In that earlier case, police intercepted a yacht, Inner Smile, carrying two suspects — a Lithuanian and a British national — allegedly with 1.6 tonnes of cocaine.
The cocaine has since been secured under tight guard at the Vanuatu Mobile Force Cook Barracks, the Daily Postunderstands.
The Daily Post spotted the two men arrested on the Inner Smile yacht outside Port Vila Magistrate Court last week while they were waiting for their Preliminary Inquiry.
The former investigator said it would not be surprising if the Havannah suspects, along with two Turkish and Chinese nationals arrested in TORBA Province for drug trafficking, are later allowed to move freely in Port Vila.
A reliable source told the Daily Post that some of the suspects are now moving freely in Port Vila and staying in high-cost accommodation in Nambatu Lagoon and hotel rooms in town.
Questions have been raised about who is funding their accommodation and daily living expenses, the source said.
