Kimbe police find 100 kg of marijuana on a dinghy and arrest eight
Police in Kimbe, West New Britain, stopped a boat between Garu and Kaliai and found 17 packages holding about 100 kg of marijuana, arresting its eight passengers. The provincial commander said the seizure disrupted drug trafficking in the province; charges and court action were not disclosed.
🇵🇬 between Garu and Kaliai, Kimbe, West New Britain · Papua New Guinea
Kimbe police arrested eight people after a boat they stopped during a routine
patrol was found carrying 17 packages of marijuana.[1]The boat fled when the
officers approached and was caught at Taveliai Village, where the eight
passengers were detained.[1]A search of the boat found 16 unopened packages
and one opened package of marijuana.[1]
Post Courier reported about 100 kilograms of marijuana in the 17 bags on the
dinghy with eight passengers.[2]Post Courier put the load’s value at K2
million and called it, on police estimates, the largest marijuana haul in the
country’s history.[2]PNG News Update reported the load as worth about K2.37
million on the street and said the marijuana would be presented as evidence in
court.[1]Police also confiscated a homemade gun from the suspects.[1]
Provincial police commander Superintendent Peter Barkie, whose province is West
New Britain, praised the patrol’s vigilance and said the seizure disrupted drug
trafficking in the province.[1]Barkie did not disclose the suspects’
identities or the charges they might face.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The Post Courier article is behind a paywall; only its opening paragraphs were readable, so further details it may contain are not used.
The exact date of the interception is not stated; the month is limited only by the publication dates and the second account's reference to a Friday. The value is given as K2 million by Post Courier and about K2.37 million on the street by PNG News Update; the figures record K2 million.
No charges, court dates or outcomes are reported for the eight arrested people.
The Post Courier photo captioned here is an illustrative image ('Drugs') with no caption tying it to this seizure.
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.
Gulf police arrested nine people after finding seven bags holding 125.6 kg of marijuana at Kikori on 13 July 2025. Police said the load came from the Southern Highlands and was to be taken by dinghy and road towards Daru and then Australia through Saibai, Cairns and Townsville.
Police reported arresting a couple and a taxi driver from Hela with 13 kg of marijuana that had arrived from the Highlands, and finding about 10 kg left unattended after a flight from Tapini. They were also investigating more than eight bags that arrived on an Air Sanga flight in May and disappeared from the terminal with the help of airport and police officers.
Police in Kiunga, Western Province, arrested two men from Western Highlands after finding about 18 kg of dried marijuana in two boxes at Rubber Corner. The boxes had been sent by Mail Express from Mount Hagen via Port Moresby; police put the street value at K90,000–100,000. Both were charged under section 3(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.