Port Moresby Police

NCD Metropolitan Superintendent, Perou N’Dranou says that the personnel include members of the Mobile Squad, the Dog Unit, Bomana staff as well as the police band and the reservists.

“On that day; New Year’s Eve, we have over a thousand police members on the ground. That is something we would like to remind out residents”.

He said the police have done well so far in the Christmas operations and would like to also continue into the New Year.

Ali said they had managed to get information from witnesses who were present during the incident that implicated some police officers.

“We’ve also interviewed some of the officers who were believed to be involved in the incident.”

Ali says other than that, they are still trying to assess the information they have collected to confirm the identities of the policemen.

He adds that although it is easier to identify people, the hardest part of it is gathering evidence which will be able to withstand judicial scrutiny when tested in court.

The NCD Metropolitan Superintendent Commander Ben Turi described the occurrence as being forced upon by desperate candidates.

Turi also confirmed allegations that a number of supporters of candidates present at the courts yesterday were allegedly assaulted by police personnel.

However Turi said that supporters and scrutineers of candidates had packed the Rita Flynn courts and caused a nuisance in the area

He added that the courts and its surrounding areas are an eye sore with the supporters causing disturbances to the general public compromising security. 

He said he was equally concerned and petrified by the news but after confirming with the Police Commissioner, the security company was engaged early this year to train our special police force units.

“Due to public scare and this being election time, such presence can be very misleading and can lead to people making lots of unwarranted claims to create instability in the city.”

The NCD police boss says they are part of a unit that is under the RPNGC contract for training purposes.

Commander Ben Turi says the two men are part of a six men group that is in the country since the beginning of the year – to conduct SWAT-like training for police officers in different units.

The men are police officers of different US states and are not mercenaries or other branded soldiers of fortune, says Turi.

Yesterday (March 27^th) two men were badly bashed up and handed over to police, while another was chased away by angry vendors.

The vendors have sent a clear message that they do not want criminal elements to disturb their customers who frequent the area to have their cars cleaned.

A community spokesman Tony Hovea says  the business of cleaning cars benefits many unemployed youths which is why anything that can cause them to lose customers  will be dealt with.

A police unit was surprised when they were stopped and handed two badly beat up men earlier this morning.

The two men from Tari were bashed up by vendors who were tired of them being drunk and demanding money for security they allegedly provided vendors at the market.

The two men are now in police custody.

In the meantime, another man was arrested and charged for selling drugs after he was picked up at the back of the old Malaro shops car park at the back of the market.

The men were arrested by a police patrol unit after they fronted up to a house of a Morobe man and demanded that he hand over the keys to his car.

Police report that the victim had allegedly borrowed K1000 from the men and was about five months behind in repayments.

The five men as well as the victim are now all at the Boroko stations being questioned by police with  formal charges yet be laid on them.

Meanwhile, in another domestic abuse case, a father of two was taken to the police station after he had bashed up his wife.

Airport police are present while officials are sorting through all the bags and accounting for them.

A total of 18 bags were confiscated  after an Air Niugini  flight from Lae landed this afternoon.

National Airport Corporation staff have  raised concerned of the Betelnut Ban officials  coming into the airport site but the Airport Police Commander Robert Wane has clarified that they  arrived to remove all the bags from an earlier haul from Kokoda  and were called out to assist his officers  and bring in the new lot cargo that were taken into custody.

This was the frustrations expressed by the Airport Police Station Commander Robert Wane when he spoke with PNG Loop after this afternoon's unusual  mustard  haul at the airport.

PSC Wane tells PNG Loop that the mustard trade in the city is being facilitated by airlines who allow the  vendors to bring in the mustard.

He says that many times the passengers have been allowed to bring in their cargo of mustard which under the Betelnut Ban laws is also illegal to sell or trade.