Five men jailed ten years over 56.5 kg of marijuana at Menyake
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.
🇵🇬 Menyake village, Menyamya, Morobe · Papua New Guinea
Five men caught with 56.5 kilograms of marijuana at Menyake village in Menyamya,
Morobe Province, were jailed for ten years each by a district court in Lae on
Wednesday 30 July 2026.[1]Four were from Tari in Hela Province and were
travelling toward Port Moresby on the Gulf Highway when they stopped for the
night at a local house; the fifth was from Morobe.[1]
Police raided the house at about 4 a.m. on 21 July after a tip-off and found
nine bags of marijuana.[1]Two of the men tried to attack officers with bush
knives and were subdued; the account says they were taken to Angau General
Hospital in Lae while five others were arrested.[1]Magistrate Nasiling
Bingtau convicted all five of possessing a dangerous drug and warned that the
Controlled Substance Act allows fines up to K1 million and terms up to forty
years.[1]Four will serve their sentences at Hawa Correctional Institute in
Tari and the Morobe man at Menyamya district cell because Buimo prison in Lae
had no space.[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
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.
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.
