Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On September 12, 2025, Fagatogo Central Police Station (FPS) received a call from Customs at the Post Office in Fagatogo regarding a package that allegedly contained Marijuana.

Rachael Peters was later charged with Count 1: Possession of a Controlled Substance, a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment for not less than five years and not more than ten years, a fine of not less than $5,000. and not more than $20,000.

The defendant's bail was set at $10,000.

According to court records, on Sept 12th, at approximately 3:43 p.m., FPS received a call from a Customs Agent (hereinafter referred to as CA) reporting the discovery of what allegedly appeared to be Marijuana inside a large flat-rate box (package) at the Post Office (PO) during a routine inspection.

Police officers responded to serve the call, and upon arrival, they had a brief meeting with the CA. The woman who picked up the parcel was taken to the FPS along with the package for further investigation.

The female who picked up the mail from the Post Office was later identified as Elena Atonio (hereinafter referred to as Atonio). Investigation later revealed that Atonio was dropped off at the PO and was there by herself.

According to Atonio's interview, she claimed that she received a Facebook message from Talofa Talofa, also known as Rachael Peters (later identified as the suspect), around 6:00 a.m. on Sept. 12, 2025. The suspect informed her that her package had arrived on the island and was awaiting pickup from the Post Office.

This led to Atonio picking up the suspect's postal package, along with another package that belonged to her, from the post office.

Upon picking up the packages, she headed to the Customs table for a routine inspection. Atonio stated that her package was opened first, where it was inspected and cleared by the CA. The CA then checked the package that she claimed belonged to the suspect, and they discovered a black trash bag inside the box.

Customs continued their inspection and found another white trash bag. Customs tore through the white trash bag and found four large, clear, air-sealed bags containing other clear, medium-sized bags that appeared to hold green, leafy substances.

Moreover, inside two of the air-sealed bags were six medium-sized bags of green, leafy substances. Inside another air-sealed bag were two medium-sized bags, while the last bag contained a single bag of the same green, leafy substance. A total of nine clear, medium-sized bags were inside the four large, air-sealed bags.

The CA contacted the authorities to report the matter and requested that the Vice & Narcotic Unit (VNU) be notified at the Post Office.

During Atonio's interview, she consented and provided correspondence between herself and the suspect on Facebook (FB) Messenger.

Atonio revealed when the suspect first asked to use her mailbox information for a package sent from her husband and daughter who currently reside in the United States. Atonio also provided the suspect's Facebook message sent to her daughter, asking for her mother's mailbox information. The suspect also contacted her through Facebook Messenger, inquiring about her full name and address. The correspondence occurred around the second week of August 2025.

Furthermore, on Sept 12th, she received a Facebook message from the suspect informing her that her package had arrived and was ready for pickup. She was then picked up by the suspect and dropped off around noon at the Post Office to pick up the packages, where the CA discovered illegal drugs inside the suspect's package.

Atonio stated that she willingly provided her mailbox information to the suspect because she was both her landlord and her friend. She claimed that she had no knowledge or had consented for the suspect to use her name and mailbox to send illegal drugs.

Nevertheless, Atono informed the officers that the suspect had given her instructions to contact her immediately after she came out of the PO with the package so that she could pick it up right away.

At around 6:30 p.m., the VNU, along with other officers, conducted a controlled delivery operation of the postal package containing the green leafy substances.

The control delivery operation was conducted at a fast food’s parking lot, where police detectives were posted near the entrance and exits, having a clear view of Atonio's vehicle. At the same time, Atonio, along with the package, awaited the arrival of the suspect.

Atonio contacted the suspect to meet at the parking lot at around 6:30 p.m. The suspect's vehicle was observed driving into the entrance of the parking lot and parked next to Atonio's car. The suspect remained inside her vehicle while Atonio was observed exiting her car with the package in her hand. Atonio was observed handing off the package to the suspect through the driver's side window. The suspect then asked Atonio if the Customs had opened the package, and Atonio told her no.

Atonio told the suspect that she was rushing to pick up her sewing materials, and got back into her vehicle, and left. The suspect was observed backing up from the parking lot and got back on the main road and headed westbound.

The suspect's vehicle was stopped in front of Kristopher's store in Tafuna, and the officers confirmed that the suspect was the only occupant of the car. The officers also confirmed the package was inside on the passenger seat.

The package was confiscated, along with the suspect and her vehicle, and taken to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for further investigation.

The confiscated leafy substances were later tested by the authorities and yielded positive results for THC - the active ingredient in marijuana.

The suspect was Mirandized, to which she understood and exercised her right to remain silent. Peters was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 49-year-old U.S national.