Police confiscate marijuana, two men arrested

Two men are in police custody and thousands of kina worth of marijuana was confiscated from their possession during a dawn raid conducted by Wewak police at the Makon village just outside Wewak town early this morning.

Police say both men originally from Wosera/Gawi district of East Sepik province are long time settlers at the Makon settlement.

The police team led by members of the National Criminal Intelligent Unit (NCIU) rounded the two suspects at their houses and they led the police to two marijuana gardens.

The third suspect escaped during the raid.

Police uprooted 29 fresh marijuana plants, and they also found in the possession of the two suspects a 5 kg plain flour bag containing over 3 kilograms of dried marijuana and over 20 packed dried marijuana, ready to be sold on the streets of Wewak.

A member of the NCIU urged the public to come forward to police and report any of such activities happening in their communities.

Meantime, a police source said the street value of the confiscated marijuana would be over K10,000.00.

Police also confiscated a homemade and staple gun, which they believe is often used to threaten local villages.

Police acted on information from locals, who they said are fed up of being terrorized by the men.

Both unemployed men, one a father of three children and the other a single man are expected to appear before the Wewak District court this week.

A member of the NCIU said the suspects have been cultivating and selling marijuana for sometime within the provincial capital.

Cultivation and use of marijuana, and production and consumption of homebrew remains two main challenges for the law-enforcing agency. 

PNG Today/NBC