Commissioner of Police David Manning has announced that the suspects and drugs seized in the Papa Lealea Drug bust case have been sent to Australia for prosecution.
“Our existing laws were inadequate and we could not effectively prosecute the case here in PNG to obtain the maximum penalty. We therefore had to send the suspects and the drugs to Australia where the laws were quite strong. The Government is currently taking measures to amend our legislation so that we can effectively deal with such transnational crimes,” Manning said.
He said that the Constabulary is also working to strengthening its processes and systems to effectively detect and prosecute such crimes being committed on PNG soil.
“Also, since July 2020 we have made five arrests in relation to the Papa Lealea case. All five have been served with several criminal charges and the matters are now in the lower courts,” he added.
“In addition, the pilot has been charged by the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority and found guilty for the charges under Civil Aviation laws. He was found guilty and imposed with a fine of more than K30,000 or imprisonment.”
Manning further added that they have partnered with Customs and have arrested the pilot for importing electronic items including money in Australian Dollars into PNG, and attempting to export items from PNG in breach of the PNG Customs Act.
The files have been served and the matters are in the courts.
Manning said, “In so far as the test results of the drugs that were remitted to Australia are concerned, we are grateful that our Department of Attorney General and Justice, and our Australian counterparts who assisted through the Mutual Assistance Program have the drugs tested with positive results and reports returned to be included as exhibit.