Port Moresby Police charge Two suspects for possession of stolen cigarettes

TWO suspects were charged for receiving and being in possession of 75 stolen cartons of cigarettes worth over K700,000 in Port Moresby.
According to the Policing the Police Task Force Team (PPTFT) the suspects Gabriel Bona and Christine Kamel were charged respectively under section 410 (1) of the Criminal Code Act (CCA) for receiving and being in possession of the stolen cigarettes.
The suspects were apprehended and charged after the cartons of cigarettes were found in their residence at Tokarara in the National Capital District (NCD).
The 75 of the 160 cartons of cigarettes stolen from Choulai, a wholesale outlet in Port Moresby were recovered by the PPTFT on Monday this week.
The K1.5 million worth of Cambridge cigarettes cartons were stolen at 11am on Saturday 19 January 2019 at 2 Mile Hill.
The company offered K100,000 cash reward for anyone who provided information that would lead to the recovery of the cartons of stolen cigarettes. However, the recovery of the cigarettes was largely due to the tireless efforts of the members of the PPTFT. The K100,000 cash reward was offered to the PPTFT. Officer in Charge (OIC) Senior Sergeant Apollos Terry turned down the reward saying it was not proper and that police were only doing their job.
Senior Sergeant Terry said the balance of the 160 cartons of cigarettes were not yet recovered and his team was working around the clock to recover them.
"I know many people are saying why bother it's only cigarettes. But a crime has been committed allegedly with people in police uniforms. No member of the public are safe until we arrest every last one of the suspects and recover the stolen items," Senior Sergeant Terry said.