THE Nausori Magistrate’s Court has acquitted two men of illicit drug possession after finding that the drugs recovered during a police operation belonged solely to a passenger who had already admitted guilt.
The judgment concludes the criminal case involving Samuela Bisa Vakaca, Tevita Ramana, Apisalome Matetani, and Unaisi Lewamoce. All four were initially charged with one count of being found in possession of illicit drugs following a snap police roadblock at Manoca, Nausori on December 6, 2024.
During the operation, police searched a hybrid vehicle driven by Matetani and discovered 14 branches of marijuana wrapped inside a baby’s onesie suit on the back left passenger seat. While Ramana and Lewamoce entered guilty pleas and were dealt with by the court, Mr Vakaca and Mr Matetani maintained their innocence.
The prosecution relied on Section 32 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, which presumes that any illicit drug found inside a vehicle is in the possession of the person controlling the vehicle.
However, Mr Matetani called Ramana as a defence witness. Ramana testified that the marijuana belonged entirely to him and that Mr Matetani was merely the driver. Prosecution witnesses corroborated this layout, confirming that the drugs were located directly adjacent to Ramana’s seating position in the back seat.
Magistrate Vaniqi held that Mr Matetani successfully rebutted the statutory presumption of possession, ruling that he was “just the driver caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Applying the same rationale to Mr Vakaca, who was also a passenger, the court found both Mr Vakaca and Mr Matetani not guilty and acquitted them accordingly.
