Gerehu police uproot seven marijuana plants behind Tete school
Gerehu police uprooted seven marijuana plants growing behind an elementary school classroom at Tete Settlement in Port Moresby on 16 January 2023 and arrested two suspects. The plants were taken to Gerehu police station with the suspects, who were to be questioned before any charges were laid.
🇵🇬 Tete Settlement, Gerehu Stage Two, Port Moresby · Papua New Guinea
Gerehu police raided a school compound in Port Moresby on Monday 16 January
2023 and uprooted seven marijuana plants.[1][2]Officers found the plants
behind an elementary school classroom at Tete Settlement in Gerehu Stage Two
at around 5pm; the classroom had been vacant during the school holiday.[1][2]The plants were growing in a small vegetable garden among cassava,
banana and leafy vegetables, and more than five officers took part in the
operation.[2]
Two suspects were arrested at the scene and detained at Gerehu police station
with the uprooted plants.[1][2]Police said the suspects would be questioned
intensively before any charges were laid, with suggestions they could be
connected to a drug ring.[2]National Capital District and Central police
commander Anthony Wagambie Jr commended the officers and warned city residents
involved in cultivating, smuggling or selling cannabis to stop.[1][2]He
said penalties under the new drug legislation reached ten years in jail or a
fine of more than K10,000.[1]
Photos and video
Gerehu police officers with the uprooted marijuana at Tete. Photo courtesy of the NCD/Central media unit.Photo details
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
Police in Kokopo, East New Britain, seized 40 kg of marijuana in three green bags that also held Papua New Guinea Defence Force and police uniforms. The bags were found in the bush at Bitapabeke and Ulagunan after a group of young people fled; no one was arrested at the time. Police said the suspects' identities were known and appealed for them to surrender.
