West Coast Namatanai

In a brief, Namatanai police said the passenger double-engine boat, loaded with 13 passengers, left Kokopo, East New Britain Province, at about 5.30pm.

The boat ran out of fuel when it neared Burau village, Namatanai.

The rough seas rushed into the boat, forcing passengers to jump out and try to make it to the reef.

“Darkness was just falling when people were struggling in the rough seas as there were no lifejackets or pads on board,” said the Namatanai acting police station commander, Nambulasa Silau.

This follows a 7 days operation which ended on Friday 13 January 2023. This was a grace period to allow those involved to uproot plants with the support of community leaders. After the grace period, police will be involved and any plants found not uprooted, then arrests will be made.

From the 680 marijuana plants, 34 were matured enough and ready for sale while the rest were young and medium plants.