Man gets 11 years for receiving stolen money

A MAN has been sentenced to 11 years in jail with hard labour for receiving stolen money from an armed robbery in Port Moresby in 2013.
The money was part of the K6 million stolen from Maybank in 2013.
Justice Panuel Mogish jailed Ricky Antio, 36, from Yababi village in Kainantu district, Eastern Highlands, yesterday after he pleaded guilty to a charge of receiving stolen property obtained by means of an armed robbery. Mogish deducted the 11 months Antio had served while remanded in custody and suspended three years. Antio will serve six years and 11 months at Bomana prison.
His bail of K3,000 was forfeited to the State because the court was of the view that the money came from the proceeds of an armed robbery.
“In this case, a substantial sum of money was received by the offender and a substantial sum of money remained unaccounted for,” Mogish said.
“People who assist criminals by knowingly receiving proceeds from crimes must appreciate that they would be sent to jail for a long time. The offender is no exception.”
Antio was in Port Moresby on Oct 4, 2013, when the armed robbery took place.
One of the robbers asked Antio to assist him with transport. The court heard that Antio transported part of the money from the armed robbery to a residence at Gerehu in the National Capital District.
He then transported the suspect to Nabuapaka village in Bereina, Central.
Antio was apprehended by police on Oct 17, 2013. Police discovered K125,000 cash inside the vehicle he was driving.
The police later discovered the tin trunk with K458,000 cash at a residence in Gerehu.