Three men jailed two years each for 100kg marijuana run to Daru
The National Court in Daru sentenced three men to two years each for smuggling nine bags of marijuana weighing more than 100kg to the island town by dinghy. Police had intercepted them at Toro Passage on routine patrol, and the exhibits were destroyed after the conviction.
🇵🇬 Toro Passage, near Daru, Western Province · Papua New Guinea
Three men were each jailed for two years by the National Court in Daru for smuggling marijuana onto the island town.[1]Police intercepted them at Toro Passage, about four kilometres from the island, during a routine patrol.[1]
They had nine bags of marijuana weighing more than 100kg, which police said would have been worth more than 500,000 Australian dollars had it reached the Torres Strait islands of northern Queensland.[1]Police said the drugs had been brought down from the Highlands region through Kikori in Gulf province and then to Daru by dinghy.[1]
After the convictions the exhibits were destroyed and burnt.[1]Daru police said they had mapped the trading chain and would crack down on outsiders bringing drugs into the province with locals.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
A police team travelled by dinghy to Gaima village in Balimo, Western Province, and seized 500 kg of marijuana in a dawn raid on 8 October 2026. Five suspects from Nipa-Kutubu in the Southern Highlands and their spouses were arrested; police said locals had harboured them. The suspects and exhibits were being taken to Daru for charges.
The Tari District Court convicted a 26-year-old man from Jangome Village of possessing about 4.7 kg of marijuana and fined him K30,000, with 20 years in prison if he does not pay. Police and Defence Force personnel found the marijuana in 60 rolls at the Magarima check point on 4 August 2026.
Charged 1Cannabis 4.7 kgPrison 20 years if the fine is not paidFine PGK 30,000
A district court in Lae sentenced five men to ten years each after police found 56.5 kg of marijuana in nine bags at Menyake village in Menyamya on 21 July 2026; two men allegedly attacked officers with bush knives when the house was raided at 4 a.m.
Arrested 5Charged 5Cannabis 56.5 kgPrison 10 years
The Tabubil District Court sentenced Ipark Amlat, 38, to six years' hard labour for possessing 4.5 kg of marijuana, charged under section 3(1)(d) of the Dangerous Drugs Act. He had been arrested on 12 October 2024 and pleaded guilty; 25 days in pre-trial custody were deducted. Police put the street value at K20,000–30,000.
