Police in the Gulf of Papua have advised that following the arrest of four suspects in relation to the transportation of illicit substances, the Gulf Command is still riddled with reports of incidents, direct or indirectly influenced by illicit substance abuse. Provincial Police Commander for Gulf, Chief Inspector Jeffery Lemb believes that much more awareness needs to be done for people in the province to refrain from pedalling drugs as a means of sustaining their livelihoods. “Four suspects were arrested recently transporting drugs and were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.” “This should have been seen as a deterrent to move people away from this sort of illegal activity.” PPC Lemb told PNG HAUSBUNG that more awareness needs to be done for people on the New Controlled Substances Act and this should be done in communities to address these growing concerns. He has also called on the media to assist in this undertaking. It is understood that there are challenges that people face in their day to day lives and people tend to resort to illegal activities as means of survival, but people need a rundown on the consequences of these actions. Meanwhile the PPC stated that for now, police have made headway in their investigation on a syndicate that supply’s illegal drugs in the Southern Region and has issued a warning to all in the province to cease conducting this illegal business.