Four charged with drug cultivation and trade

 By EMMANUEL MAIPE

POLICE Drug Squad efforts to bust marijuana growing and trading, has resulted in the arrest and charging of four suspects following an early morning raid yesterday at Aipeana village in Central.

Of the four suspects, three were captured in a small garden hut while they were still sleeping, while the fourth was captured in the village with the assistance of the village chief after he tried to escape from the police. 

Two are brothers, Raphael Kavo and Nicholas Kavo, while the other two were named as Tommy Aiso and Nicholas Oaike.   

National Drug and Vise Squad’s Officer in Charge (OIC) Detective Chief Inspector Joel Kapinias yesterday at the Police Drug Squad office at Badili in Port Moresby said the bust was the second for the village located in the Bereina district. 

The first raid took place late last year.

“Last year during New Year and Christmas we had a drug operation up at Bereina where we uprooted 1,036 marijuana plants, following that from Aipeana village and from more information of cultivation in gardens, we started conducting surveillance into those affected areas, especially in Aipeana village,” Kapinias said.

Kapinias said the four were planning on selling the drugs to youths in the village and in the city.

The plants that were uprooted yesterday numbered 775 altogether.

Also found in the hut were two live ammunition, but no weapons were found, Kapinias said.

Kapinias also thanked the village chief for his assistance in busting the four as it shows that the villagers are concerned about the drugs and are willing to help them remove them.