Ten bags of marijuana seized from truck

By MARJORIE FINKEO
Ten bags of marijuana with an estimated street value of K100,000 were allegedly confiscated from a foreign scrap metal company vehicle by police at Laloki outside Port Moresby on Friday.
The vehicle was returning from Brown River after buying scrap metal.
Officer-in-charge of Firearms Explosives and Dogs Dominic Nassam said they got a tip-off that a company vehicle travelling to Port Moresby from Brown River had bags of marijuana among scrap metal on board.
“We intercepted the truck at Laloki road and off-loaded the bags of can, only to find bags of marijuana hidden amongst the metal,” he said.
Six 10kg bags of marijuana and four 1kg rice packets were confiscated.
Nassam said the driver and two other men, believed to be from Goilala in Central, were arrested.
He said the foreign scrap metal company was located at Baruni.
Dog unit director Leith Nidung said this was the first major case of marijuana confiscated in 2019. He said there were many growers and dealers throughout the country and tougher penalties should be imposed.
Nidung said the two-year penalty for drug trafficking was too lenient.
“We give them little time in prison so they don’t care. Many people will start growing and selling marijuana because our laws are not effective.”
Nidung said if other countries could impose life imprisonment and death sentence for drug traffickers, PNG should follow suit.