By FRANK RAI
TEN suspects, 16 home-made guns, and a factory-made gun are now in the custody of Lae rural police.
Police believed the suspects had used the guns to terrorise the public at Sialum, headquarters of the Tewai-Siassi district.
A joint Morobe rural police and Mobile Squad unit 13 task force on Christmas Day raided Sialum and five neighbouring villages to put a stop to escalating lawlessness in the area.
Police said crime had increased at the prompting of a sect, alleging it had been responsible for the death of a manager at the Asak Cattle Range.
A 24-man police squad made the arrests at the Sikikia village on the Christmas Day.
Police reported that Sikikia, Kukuya, Kakankiu and Rua villages had been allegedly influenced by the sect to take the laws into their own hands.
Morobe provincial police commander chief Insp Augustine Wampe said the cult activity in the area had been an on-going issue which had already claimed two lives.
Mr Wampe said the sect was circulating word that “police and Government have no power”.
“The leaders of this movement are influencing more than four villages to terrorise the public and even the public servants and police personnel,” he said.
Mr Wampe said the problem arose when villagers were unhappy with a Lae district court decision and tried to serve a restraining order on the manager of Asak Cattle Range James Ninga when a heated argument turned fatal for a villager.
He said the villagers retaliated leaving Mr Ninga dead, properties destroyed and innocent people terrorised.
The police raid was to apprehend suspects of rape, murder, assault and break and enter.
Mr Wampe said the stronghold of the sect was in the rugged hinterlands, accessible by “only one way in and one way out”.
He considered his only option was to fly in by helicopter.
Meanwhile, Mr Wampe had appealed to the sect leaders to stop practising the cargo cult activities because this would only bring evil and destruction into their villages.
He urged the leaders to meet with authorities to resolve any grievances they hold.
“Peace and normalcy should return,” he said.