Lae Police

Lae’s Metropolitan Superintendent Commander, Anthony Wagambi, said Lae has had a bad  reputation however this time around, he said they managed to carry out the operations without any violence erupting.

The double header rugby league game was held peacefully in Lae on Sunday, with police and PNGDF personnel deployed all around the venue and also inside.

Drunks and would be trouble makers were prevented from entering the area, whilst gate crashers were kept at bay.

Lae Metro Police boss Anthony Wagambie Jnr said police expect a massive turn out of people coming in into Lae from other Morobe districts and provinces even.

He said police operations will be in full swing to ensure the match is played without disruption.

Lae’s Mobile Squad 13 have returned from Madang after operations and will be deployed to the Lae League along with other police units.

The Defence Force at Igam Barracks will have a Platoon deployed to assist with crowd and perimeter control as well.

Police see land grabbing as a breeding ground for lawlessness.

Lae police boss, Chief Superintendent Anthony Wagambie Jr, said they will work in unison with other public stakeholders to crack down on illegal settlements.

“We will join forces with Lands and other stakeholders and demolish those squatter settlements. These are some of the sources of uprising law and order issues in the city,” he said.

Wagambie Jr said these agencies are ready to work but due to issues like harassment, they do not perform.

The suspects had conducted an armed robbery in a shop at Karkar Island and had fled by boat to Sarang village, located along the North Coast Road of Madang.

Talidig Police with the assistance of Lae based MS 13 apprehended three prime suspects of the eight who were armed with a factory made shotgun and home-made shotgun.

The suspects, after realising that they had nowhere to run, surrendered to a Foursquare Church pastor.

Civilian police spotted the vehicle matching the description given and tailed it from Kamkumung to Eriku, where they were intercepted.

There were eight men on board the vehicle. Police had to fire warning shots to stop the vehicle when the driver didn’t stop after being signalled by officers sounding the siren.

The suspects, realising that it was police, tried to get off the vehicle and run away but Police managed to apprehend all eight men who were also heavily intoxicated.

A lone policeman from Omili Police Station in Lae, with community leaders, conducted a walk through Nawaeb Block all the way to Kamkumung settlement when they approached suspicious movement of people in the area.

The group, upon realising that it was police, dropped some of the cartons they were carrying and made a run for it. 

Police and the community went through the area and retrieved up to 80 cartons of counterfeit Pall Mall red cigarettes. 

There were up to 15 men who walked into the shop at about 7am in the morning when they opened for business. 

According to Lae police from CCTV footage viewed, it was seen that the men pretended to be early morning shoppers, but then pulled out homemade guns and bush knives attacking and chasing the security guards; some of which tried to force their way into the area where the cash register and other staff were. 

The three robbery suspects were gunned down on April 2 while a fourth was seriously wounded on his leg following a gunfight with police.

Two of the men reside in Lae, one from Northern Province while the other from Morobe, and have both served time for various offences. 

The third, going by the nickname of ‘Whitey’ of Milne Bay and Madang parentage, had been on the run from Milne Bay police following a series of criminal activities committed in the province.

The suspects had been involved in an armed robbery of an Asian shop owner at Downtown Lae around 9am yesterday (April 2).

The suspects were intercepted by a traffic police unit when they tried to escape in a Sedan.

The unit was in the area and was alerted by gun shots fired by the suspects, who wounded the Chinese national and a security guard.

Lae metropolitan superintendent, Commander Anthony Wagambie Junior, said the traffic police promptly contacted all units, who then blocked off possible escape routes.

Apart from the normal policing of criminal activities, Lae police are also encouraging the general public to be vigilant in reporting and dealing with this issue.

Family and sexual violence is a major issue in Lae with cases of rape and violence against women and girls reported on a weekly basis.

The Lae Metropolitan Superintendent Commander, Anthony Wagambie Junior, who is also a strong advocate, has been vocal on the issue.