Hela court fines man K30,000, or 20 years in prison, over 4.7 kg of marijuana
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.
Police and Defence Force personnel stopped a 26-year-old man from Jangome
Village in Tari Urban, Tari-Pori District, at the Magarima check point on
4 August 2026 and found 60 rolls of suspected marijuana weighing about
4.7 kilograms.[1][2]He was handed to the police Investigative Task Force the
next day, formally arrested and held at the Tari police station.[1][2]
He appeared before the Tari District Court for the first time on 10 August 2026,
where the magistrate found him guilty and ordered him to pay a K30,000 fine.[1][2]If he does not pay, he will serve 20 years in prison.[1][2]
Hela provincial police commander Inspector Arau Mairi said the case should send
a message. “Let this case send a strong message that the wheel of justice is
turning,” he said.[1][2]He also warned young people to stay away from drugs,
illegal firearms and tribal fights.[1][2]Police did not name the man.[1]
Photos and video
The suspect in the middle with marijuana rolls when he was apprehended by security personnel. Image supplied.Photo details
The man was not named; police gave only his age and village.
The reports do not say whether he paid the fine.
The conviction and fine came at his first court appearance, five days after the arrest; the reports do not explain the procedure or say whether he had a lawyer.
No value was given for the marijuana.
The RPNGC page carries no visible publication date; 12 August 2026 is the date of the PNG Sun report.
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.
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.
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.