Marijuana found in student’s backpack

Police have confiscated 1kg of marijuana from a Grade 10 student’s backpack at Goilala Road in Central last Friday.
The marijuana was in the student’s bag and was brought from Tapini station.
Goilala MP William Samb condemned the alleged smuggling act.
Samb said students should concentrate on their studies and not get involved in illegal activities that would destroy their future.
Rural police coordinator for Central Senior Inspector Peterson Birigi told The National that this was a common practice in the Goilala area.
“We have been making awareness and telling people, especially students, not to get involve in such illegal activities and instead concentrate on education,” Birigi said.
“But people and pyouths in the Goilala area have never heeded our information and so keep involving in crime and unlawful activities.”
Birigi said students were always used by other men to smuggle marijuana.
The suspect in this matter was a juvenile from Bereina.
The suspect was with other Grade 10 students from Sacred Heart High School in the Tapini local level government area.
They finished their examination and were returning home when they were stopped by police along the road.
The police searched the vehicle and found the marijuana which was packed in a 1kg rice packet and was put in the student’s back pack.
The juvenile said he did not know the owner of the bag or the marijuana.
He said he put his books and certificate into the bag for safety and he did not know that the marijuana was in the bag.
The police released the juvenile and told him to get his parents and go to the Central police headquarters in Port Moresby to give a statement.