A statement published on 22 September 2026 by the Solomon Islands Government portal, under its Royal Solomon Islands Police Force category, said officers based in Auki had recently raided a number of kwaso (homebrew) production houses and stalls at Fiu village, inland in Malaita Province.
According to the statement, officers pulled down several temporary structures used for making the homebrew, and equipment used for cooking kwaso was taken away during the operation.
Superintendent Michael Ramosaea, the Supervising Provincial Police Commander (PPC) for Malaita Province, said in the statement that officers in Auki were collecting information about who owned the houses and stalls that were raided.
He said police were working on the case, and that producers would be arrested soon to face the full force of the law, the statement said.
"I appeal to those who had been involved in the kwaso production to surrender and come forward to police," the statement quoted Mr Ramosaea as saying.
The statement said Superintendent Ramosaea described the making and drinking of kwaso as one of the social and security problems still faced by many communities across Malaita, and said it was having an effect on local communities. He also thanked community leaders at Fiu for the support they gave police during the raid, according to the statement.
The statement said the PPC for Malaita warned that the operation would not be a single event, and that the liquor squad would keep working until everyone who had fled was arrested, taken to court and brought to justice.
Source: Source: "Police raid kwaso production sites in Malaita province", statement published by the Solomon Islands Government portal (solomons.gov.sb) in its Royal Solomon Islands Police Force category, 22 September 2026. https://solomons.gov.sb/police-raid-kwaso-production-sites-in-malaita-province/