Betel nut scam in NCD

WHILE the NCD ban on betel nuts serves to promote the health, hygiene and the cleanliness of our beautiful city, officers enforcing this laws are forever twisting it to benefit themselves.
On April 12, while parked along the road to Gordon outside the ANZ bank opposite Boroko Motors, I saw one of the NCD betel nut ban enforcement vehicles drive into the gate and started chasing anyone that looked like a betel but seller.
Then I saw a police officer get into the front of a Toyota Land Cruiser belonging to Veifa’a School of Nursing. Some street boys wearing hi-viz vests and manning the street got on as well.
They then directed the driver to drive out of the shopping centre car park and onto the road, going towards Gordon.
I tailed them out of curiosity. At the junction opposite Daltron, the vehicle turned right and continued down the road and turned left at the Kenmore industrial area and pulled up outside Farmset.
I pulled up beside the Veifa’a truck and pretended not to know what was going on.
After listening quietly to what was being said, I could work out that a student had brought in a 10kg bag of betel nut that he had wanted to sell but since the truck came straight into town he left his betel nut at the back of the truck.
The NCD betel enforcement taskforce team members were accusing them of smuggling betel nut into the city.
I also learnt that the students had come into town to do shopping for their graduation event.
I then saw the students contribute some money and give it to the police officer who took the money and he confiscated the betel nut bag too.
I could not resist getting out of my car and fronting up to the police officer.
I did exactly that and told him that it was not right for him to force the truck to go to an obscure area, ask the students for money and still confiscate the betel nut.
This was his response when I queried and I quote: “Are you telling me how I should do my job?”
I was not surprised to hear that because that’s the normal language used by our police officers to cut short everything if they are caught stepping over the line.
I responded politely, “I am not telling you how you should do you job but I am trying to understand why you ordered the truck to a hidden spot, asked them for money and still confiscate their betel nut. I don’t see any logic.”
To that he did not respond and just walked away with the bribery money tucked away in the pocket of a blue uniform that I understood belongs to the RPNGPC. The bag of betel nut was swung over the shoulder on top of that same uniform.
Was he a real police officer or was he just another person hiding behind the uniform?
Can we please have another taskforce monitoring this betel nut ban taskforce?

Isaac Nare