Kidnapping

Commissioner Manning made it clear that there is no time limit to the investigation, emphasizing that criminals and their associates will be pursued until justice is served. He stressed that this new and emerging crime poses a significant threat to national security and must be eradicated at any cost.

He made a call during the Parliament session this week, while expressing anger at the hideous rape and abduction of 17 young students in remote Bosavi, Southern Highlands.

The story made headlines in the press today.

The front page headline ‘17 female students raped, held captive’ in one daily newspaper today captured the attention of an outraged Member for Koroba-Lake Kopiago William Bando. MP Bando reacted during question time in Parliament, as he illustrated a breakdown in law and order.

Security forces, consisting local police and PNG Defence Force personnel, rescued the woman with minor injuries and are treating the situation as an isolated case.

Enga Provincial Police Commander (PPC), Acting Superintendent George Kakas, has expressed his satisfaction with the emerging trend in Enga where tribes are increasingly turning to the law to deal with grievances rather than resorting to violence.

The police have been working to build trust and cooperation with local communities in order to promote peaceful conflict resolution.

He is very concerned for the safety and well-being of the victims.

The MP said the news of the hostage situation in Mount Bosavi broke out and the government has worked relentlessly in its effort to find and free the hostages held captive in the jungles of Mount Bosavi.

Dr Billy stated the MPs office is working tirelessly with local communities, and government agencies to have the victims released safely and without harm; and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

Young Allesiah was alone at the time of the incident and has not been found since. She attends the Jack & Jill Pre-School, the family have filed a police report regarding this incident.

They are appealing to the public to inform them should her whereabouts be known, and call 79434782 or 76747593 or the nearest police station.

The Waigani Committal Court today ordered the case against 50-year-old Abol Peter to the National Court for trial.

There was enough evidence in place to commit the case up to trial despite Peter telling the court today that he was forced to sign the framed record of interview document with police upon his arrest.

He will appear for listing on June 11 in the National Court.

It is alleged Peter was involved with others in the abduction of a toddler from Gordon’s market on 3 March, 2016.

She was one of thousands of children taken to Indonesia during its brutal 30-year occupation of East Timor. Decades later she found her family and now works to reunite others. The BBC's Rebecca Henschke tells her story.

She remembers clearly the day an Indonesian soldier visited her family in their village in Viqueque.

It was a Sunday after church, the time of day when Christian soldiers tried to get close to the ordinary residents of Catholic-majority East Timor.

She and her colleagues were out on a rural piece of South Carolina land Thursday morning, preparing to serve a search warrant.

She asked the other deputies whether they heard the banging, too. But it was hard to tell. It could have been just some noise coming from the woods, someone said.

The deputies listened more closely, and hearing it again they moved closer to a 30-foot-long shipping container and knocked on the side.

They say Jesus Alfredo Guzman, 29, was one of six members of the Sinaloa Cartel seized by members of a rival gang, Jalisco New Generation.

The incident took place at a restaurant in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta .

Guzman, who is now in jail, had led the Sinaloa Cartel for years. Jesus Alfredo is suspected to be a senior member.

The 29-year-old is wanted on drugs charges by the US.

The US also wants Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to be extradited to the US on charges of smuggling vast amounts of drugs into the country.

A jury found Tobias Summers, 34, guilty of all 32 charges against him, including sexual assault, kidnapping and burglary. He will face up to life in prison at his sentencing Oct. 22.

As a court clerk read the first guilty verdict, the girl's family breathed a heavy sigh, wiped away tears and consoled her. As the rest of the verdicts were read over the course of about an hour, Summers would shake his head, lay it down on the table in front of him and close his eyes, or even smirk.