An Air Niugini employee has been arrested and charged by police for being in possession of marijuana in Hela Province on Friday.
Provincial Police Commander Teddy Agwi said the man was attempting to board the Air Niugini flight to Port Moresby with the drugs when they were confiscated.
He said the arrest was made by the Laiagam-based Police Mobile Squad 12 (MS 12) along with the 20 kilograms of marijuana cannabis.
“MS 12 was in the province for operational duties and had helped out a lot in terms of security within the Tari Township,” Mr Agwi said.
“There was also a tribal fight last week where the additional manpower of police beefed up our security in controlling it as it could have escalated into an all-out warfare.”
He said the Air Niugini employee is currently in police custody and will appear at the Tari District Court this week.
Meanwhile, PPC Agwi has mentioned that a contingent of the joint security forces including personnel from the PNG Defence Force, Police and the Correctional Service will arrive into Hela tomorrow to provide security for election awareness exercises in the province.