Recently appointed Solomon Islands police chief Ian Vaevaso has been suspended after less than two months on the job over his past handling of drug evidence.
The decision to suspend Vaevaso was made by Governor-General Sir David Tiva Kapu on Wednesday on the recommendation of recently appointed Prime Minister Matthew Wale, according to the governor-general’s office.
Wale, whose office confirmed the suspension, had previously called for the removal of the police commissioner when he was opposition leader.
The move comes after In-depth Solomons revealed in March that an internal police investigation found evidence that Vaevaso had improperly destroyed the drugs, intimidated dissenting officers, and lied to investigators.
Vaevaso, who has denied any wrongdoing, will now face an independent tribunal.
“I fully respect and will fully support this process of the constitution,” he wrote in a message acknowledging his suspension to In-depth Solomons.
“I am ready to face these ‘made up allegations’ raised against me.”
The suspension, which went into effect immediately, “serves to facilitate a thorough and impartial inquiry” into the allegations against Vaevaso, said Rawcliffe Ziza, private secretary to the governor-general.
“The inquiry centres on the improper management of methamphetamine narcotics in 2024, alongside concerns regarding his selection for the role of police commissioner,” Ziza said.
Vaevaso took charge of the police force of 3,000 officers on April 24 despite allegations that he had broken protocol in early 2024 by ordering subordinates to hand over the confiscated methamphetamine, which he then dumped into the sea.
Previous reporting by In-depth Solomons found that prosecutors last year recommended suspending and formally questioning Vaevaso ahead of potential criminal charges over the incident, but the case was derailed by a bureaucratic standoff.
The impasse – between prosecutors, the police department, and the Police and Prison Services Commission (PPSC) – meant that Vaevaso was never interviewed, suspended, or charged.
Vaevaso’s suspension now raises questions over the PPSC, which officials in the last Manele government had said formally closed the case against the police chief.
Douglas Marau, Wale’s press secretary, confirmed that the suspension was made on the prime minister’s advice.
“The decision was informed by the fact that several of the allegations in question were not raised prior to Vaevaso’s appointment,” Marau told In-depth Solomons, adding that the tribunal would provide the police commissioner with “a fair and transparent opportunity to clear his name.”
The leadership change comes at a perilous moment for law enforcement in the Pacific. Small island states like the Solomons have increasingly become transit hubs for narcotics bound for lucrative shores in Australia and New Zealand.
Highlighting the scale and sophistication of the illicit trade, at least seven so-called narco-submarines have reportedly been discovered in the region over the past two years – four of them in the Solomon Islands.
The influx of cheap methamphetamine has also begun driving a domestic addiction crisis in Solomon Islands, as well as several Pacific island countries.
