Police on Epi say cannabis cultivation and sales remain a serious concern, with limited reporting and a lack of community cooperation making enforcement difficult.

Senior Sergeant Allan Joseph of Rovobay Police Post said police continued to receive information about cannabis allegedly being concealed in kava bags and transported by ship from Epi to Port Vila.

“The information we continue to receive is that people are still growing marijuana, packing it in kava bags and sending it to Port Vila.”

He said police were trying to conduct operations to identify those involved, but the people transporting the cannabis appeared to know how to avoid detection.

Joseph also raised concerns about possible arrangements between those transporting the drugs and ship crews.

Police say reports remain limited

Joseph said cannabis cultivation, smoking and selling were not new issues on Epi and had been occurring for a long time.

He said South Epi was reportedly a major area for cannabis cultivation, although the number of cases reported to police remained low.

“To be honest, marijuana cases on Epi are very high, but we do not receive many reports.”

Police face additional challenges because of the island’s size, which limits their ability to cover all areas and means they must focus on locations closer to the police post.

Community cooperation needed

Joseph said police had carried out awareness activities with support from chiefs, churches and community leaders in an effort to address cannabis-related issues.

However, he said community cooperation remained insufficient.

Police continue to face challenges addressing the cultivation, smoking and sale of cannabis across the island.

Previous court case involved ship crew

The issue has previously resulted in court action involving crew members of a ship serving the island.

On 29 July 2025, three crew members pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of cannabis in a case relating to an incident in October 2024.

Police found 580 grams of cannabis with the ship’s captain, while two other crew members were found with 107.5 grams and 7.25 grams respectively.

The court ordered the three men to perform community work and remain under supervision for 12 months.