Couples suspects in heist

 By BEATRICE BONAKOYA

FIVE men implicated in the K6.3 million heist in Port Moresby are yet to be charged, police say.

Assistant Police Commissioner Jim Andrews said the five were detained at the Boroko Police Station for further questioning. 

He said the questioning should be completed by tomorrow. 

He said one of the prime suspects and his wife were flown into Port Moresby from Lae on Monday. They had been detained at the Bulolo police station following the man’s arrest last Wednesday.

“The case involved huge sums of money so the suspects have been detained at Boroko for further questioning before formal charges can be laid,” he said.

He said the man and his wife joined another man and his wife at the Boroko police cells.

Lae police operations commander Fred Kaiwa said the man arrested in Wau was cornered by police last Saturday in Walium, Madang. 

He and another suspect were employed by the security firm G4S in Port Moresby as escorts when they allegedly committed the robbery. 

Both men were said to be transferring money from their firm’s office to the Bank of PNG when they held up their colleagues before taking off with nine trunks of money. 

Kaiwa said four policemen from Port Moresby flew into Lae last Wednesday and worked undercover with two of his intelligence officers to pick up the suspect.

Police have so far recovered almost K1 million from operations in Madang and Port Moresby.

Over K5 million still remains unaccounted for as investigations continue.