20 months for smuggling drug

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By HEZRON KISING
A FATHER of five was sentenced to 20 months in jail by a court for trying to transport marijuana with a street value of K35,000 by ship from Lae to Port Moresby earlier this year.
Lae District Court Magistrate Isaac Tjipet handed down the sentence to Philip Komborawe, 39, from Nindima village in Asaro, Eastern Highlands, last week after he pleaded guilty.
Komborawe told the court that he did it to support his two children who were at tertiary institutions.
However, Magistrate Tjipet told him that he was breaking the law to support his children and that was totally wrong and there were other legal ways to make money. The court heard that Komborawe was transporting 53kg of marijuana worth an estimated K35,000 from Eastern Highlands to Port Moresby via Lae.
Magistrate Tjipet also ordered that the drug, as court exhibit, be forfeited to the state.
According to court documents obtained by The National, Komborawe transported 15 bags of sweet potato from Asaro to Lae for shipment to Port Moresby on Jan 9.
The bags were unloaded from the truck and loaded into a shipping container by workers when they smelt marijuana coming from the bags.
Police were called and the marijuana was discovered in the bags of sweet potatoes.
Komborawe was arrested and taken to Lae Central Police Station where he was charged.
When counted, there were 39 parcels of drugs hidden in the kaukau bags weighing 53kg in total.
Police estimated the street value to be between K35,000 and K40,000.

2 comments

  • Just legalise it. It has a huge income compared to legal business activities which take time to raise such money. Many rural people make their living from weeds.

    …………….FACT………….

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