Vice Speaker Fetu Fetui has questioned the legality of what has become a practice of the Customs Division of Treasury to conduct searches of fishing vessels from Manu’a.
He made his opinion on the subject known at a hearing with Deputy Treasurer Keith Gebauer and Chief of Customs Elisara Elisara last week.
According to Gebauer the law gives Customs the power to conduct searches of vessels traveling between ports in American Samoa.
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The law Gebauer was quoting is the same one that authorized the use of the customs scanners.
The vice speaker said if fishing boats from Manu’a are being searched based on suspicion of drugs, buses coming from the east and west side should also be subjected to the same searches.
