The look on the faces of their families said it all, as they cried awaiting anxiously for their loved ones who made their way from the aircraft into the airport terminal at the capital Port Moresby.

For the families of the last three Papua New Guinea hostage crisis captives, the nightmare of being held prisoner for an entire week had ended.

The relief was evident across the nation as pictures of two of the three hostages went viral online as they were being airlifted out of Moro in the Southern Highlands province.

• READ MORE: Prime Minister Marape warns police will come down hard on criminals
• PNG state pays partial ransom for release of the hostages
• Two countries, two kidnappings – but Jakarta and Port Moresby responses different with 3 PNG hostages freed
• Other PNG hostage crisis reports

The trio named by the Office of the Prime Minister are Professor Bryce Barker, Jemina Haro and Teppsy Beni.

From preliminary reports, all were unharmed.

According to police sources, the trio had been moved several times during the week-long ordeal with the trio and the armed men finally surrounded at Sebese village near Mount Bosavi in the Southern Highlands.

A thankful son and daughter of one of the two women released on Saturday evening shed tears of joy as they waited for the return of their mum.

Hunt continues for 21
For the perpetrators, the hunt continues for all 21-armed men who held eight people hostage before releasing all eight over a week-long crisis culminating in yesterday when the final three were released.

Security personnel, however, will remain in Bosavi for the next few months as they hunt for the men who are alleged to have been the main players in the kidnap and ransom demand.

Police Commissioner David Manning said that the trio were in “good spirits” as he arrived back into Port Moresby.

Commissioner Manning confirmed that security personnel were still in Southern Highlands, saying “we still have unfinished business and we hope to resolve that within a limited time frame”.

He also stated that a “component that required to be paid” was paid.

Prime Minister James Marape said that money was paid — but not “to the tune of K3.5 million” (NZ$1.6 million).

“Criminal enterprise has no longevity, there will not be any negotiations from here on out, you either come out or we will come for you,” Marape said.

Foot bandaged, but happy
One of the two women had one of her feet bandaged, but both women looked to be happy to be back in Port Moresby after their six-day ordeal in the jungles of Bosavi.

Professor Barker, who Marape named, was the hostage from New Zealand, but living in Australia, and has had a long standing relationship with Papua New Guinea and in particular with Gulf province and the Mount Bosavi area.

His release was welcomed by New Zealand High Commissioner Philip Taula who thanked the PNG government and the security personnel for the repatriation of the professor out of Bosavi.

Professor Barker and the two women were quickly transported to Moro where they all underwent medical check before being airlifted out of Moro.

They arrived in Port Moresby at 4.40pm yesterday where they were embraced by their children and were quickly whisked out of the APEC Terminal.

Family members screamed with joy as one of the two women waved at them before they were driven out.

Outside the terminal, there was heavy police presence with Prime Minister Marape saying there was no place in PNG for such armed criminals.

“Police firepower was more powerful and such activities has no place in the country,” he said.

“These people were there to assist the government and the people.”

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

As I was having breakfast in my Christchurch suburban dining room on Monday morning, I heard a loud but indeterminate noise.

I actually thought it was a quake, but as there was no shaking, I assumed it came from the noisy construction site two doors away. So, I ignored it and carried on reading the newspaper over breakfast.

I then had a sense that somebody was nearby. Upon looking up I was surprised (to put it very mildly) to see two cops, with rifles at the ready, peering through the windows on the back door.

• READ MORE: Other Murray Horton articles at APR

I thought: “This is exciting. Why spend good money to see Muru [a new movie based on the 2007 Tūhoe police raids] when you can get it delivered to your doorstep, free of charge” (but these cops didn’t have the ninja uniforms as seen in the movie).

I opened the door. Two cops with rifles rapidly became four cops with rifles facing me (the next door neighbour later told me he saw three cop cars in the street). It’s worth noting that although they all had a gun, none of them was wearing a mask.

“Can I help you?,” I asked. The one in charge said they were looking for Mr So and So. I replied that I’d never heard of him and they had the wrong address.

But wait, there’s more. The cop then said: “Mr So and So is a gang member. He was bailed to this address, he is under curfew at this address, and now he’s wanted.”

Don’t know any gang members
I reiterated that I’d never heard of this fellow, let alone provided him with a bail address (I don’t know any gang members. Well, not since I worked at the Railways decades ago).

I said that Mr Gangster had pulled a shrewdy on the judge, and voluntarily showed the cop written proof of my ID and ownership of the property (the power bill was the closest document to hand). I told them that I had owned and occupied this house for 40 years and had never heard of the fellow throughout that time.

It was all very chatty and polite. The cops could obviously see that their wanted man had pulled a swifty, plus I am a property-owning old Pākehā. They didn’t point their guns at me, nor did they ask to come inside (and I didn’t invite them). They took my word that my sleeping wife was the only other person in the house.

I asked if they were responsible for the loud noise I’d heard, and they said that was them pounding on the front door (plus the bedroom window, apparently). I told them that there also been pounding on the front door and bedroom window after dark on the previous Friday night, which I’d chosen to ignore (assuming it to be somebody at the wrong address).

The cop said it was probably police doing a bail curfew check.

The lead cop wrote a statement in his notebook and asked me to sign it, saying that I’d owned and occupied the place for 40 years, did not know the fellow they were seeking, and had not given him permission to use it as a bail address. Then they left.

Throughout the decades I’ve had plenty of cops on various doorsteps. But never with weapons, let alone weapons drawn. The only times I’ve been confronted by men in uniforms with rifles have been in places like the Philippines and Belfast.

Here’s the punchline. One of the cops said: “As I was coming up the drive, I was thinking, ‘this doesn’t look like a gang house’.” When it comes time to sell here, I must remember to instruct the real estate agent to highlight that as its unique selling point.

A flying start to the week.

The police apology
Ten days after the police bail incident without an expected apology, Murray Horton wrote a letter of complaint. This was the police reply on 11 August 2022:

Dear Mr and Mrs Horton,

I write in response to your correspondence dated 10 August 2022 and our telephone conversation this morning.

The role of checking the veracity of bail addresses primarily sits with Police.  As you can appreciate it is simply not possible to check every bail address for every person released on bail.  Therefore we prioritise bail address checking based on a range of factors including seriousness of offending, proximity to victims/witnesses, and so on.  In the present case the defendant was charged with a relatively minor regulatory offence and therefore the address provided was not checked.  I do not dispute that the defendant in the present case was unknown to you both.  I can reassure you both that a file note now shows that your address is not to be accepted as a bail address for the defendant.

As you point out in your letter, and as we discussed, there were sound reasons why attending staff were armed.  The defendant was arrested last week in possession of a loaded firearm.  I accept that being confronted by armed police whilst reading a newspaper in your dining room was alarming.  I appreciate your acknowledgement that attending staff were professional in handling their firearms, but I also accept their professionalism does necessarily diminish your alarm.  Police remain a routinely unarmed service, but have ready access to firearms and other tactical options if they are required.  Unfortunately this means that innocent members of the public are sometimes exposed to armed police.  It is a fine balance between ensuring the community are safe, and ensuring the community feel safe.

I accept that the robust knocking on doors and windows was also alarming for you both. Clear and concise communication with potential occupants is an appropriate approach.  However, when we are at the wrong address, or the right address for the wrong reason, it will appear to be aggressive and unnecessary.

I agree that a simple explanation and apology at the time would have been appropriate, and I would expect that from my staff.  I apologise for their rudeness, and I apologise for the alarm and inconvenience caused to you both.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss the matter further please contact me directly.

Yours sincerely,

Inspector Glenn Nalder
New Zealand Police

Murray Horton is a political activist, advocate and researcher. He is organiser of the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (Cafca) and he has been an advocate of a range of progressive causes for the past five decades. Horton occasionally contributes articles for Asia Pacific Report.

The manhunt for the Papua New Guinean cult group along the Rai coast near Madang has been halted because of a lack of logistical support to continue the operation in Nankina Valley.

According to police officers who are part of the operation, they were flown back to Saidor Station where they will stay there and wait for instructions on whether to continue the operation.

Team leader Inspector Steven Yalamu said that so far they had done well, having rescued a family that was held hostage in a cult house in Nankina Valley.

• READ MORE: Other PNG gang hunt reports
• Police rescue family from captivity in PNG

Inspector Yalamu said they had also rescued a man who had his hand chopped off by cult members. He was airlifted to Madang to for further medical assistance.

Police also rescued another man who was on his way to meet the cult group to pay them some money.

The exchange did not take place because the parties heard a helicopter approaching. The man later explained to police what had happened.

Inspector Yalamu wants the operation to continue because the cult group is still active in the area, and it needs to be stopped.

Northern Command Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Peter Guinness stated earlier that the operation would need a helicopter to airlift policemen from one location to another because of the geography around the villages.

He said that if the police officers wanted to move from one village to another it would take them more than five hours on foot. By then the cult group would have moved to another location.

The Northern Mobile Group police officers were flown, free of charge, by Manalos Aviation to Mibu Village to help the Madang-based officer in the manhunt for the cult group.

Madang provincial police commander acting Superintendent Mazuc Rubiang also said that they needed the support to carry on the operation. He said the gang would continue its crimes if police withdrew.

“The villagers were in fear when the police arrived. If police leave, we are expecting something worse to happen because some threats (have) been sent to villagers who were accommodating the police,” Superintendent Rubang said.

“The missionaries were also threatened because they posted on the social media, which prompted police to go there.”

Sylvester Wemuru is a Loop PNG journalist.

A woman at the centre of a manhunt after a police shooting in New Zealand yesterday has been arrested in West Auckland.

Police said Natalie Bracken was found just after 3pm today, taken into custody without incident, “and is assisting police with enquiries”.

She was wanted on warrants for driving charges and as an accessory to the murder of Constable Matthew Hunt, and is now due to appear in Waitākere District Court on Monday morning.

READ MORE: NZ shooting of police officer ‘shocking’

Waitematā police officer Hunt, 28, was killed, and another officer was shot in the leg amid a hail of bullets fired after a car they had tried to pull over crashed on Friday, in the West Auckland suburb of Massey.

A man who had been loading things into his car on the roadside at the time was also injured when a vehicle hit him. He and the injured officer remain in a stable condition in Auckland Hospital.

Yesterday a 24-year-old man was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and dangerous driving.

He was granted interim name suppression at a court appearance via videolink today, and is scheduled to appear in the Auckland High Court on July 8.

Commissioner of Police Andrew Coster earlier today said the police force across New Zealand was mourning Hunt’s death.

The 28-year-old criminology major fullfilled a lifelong dream when he began working as a police officer in 2017, after earlier working as a case manager at Auckland Prison.

Until yesterday, the most recent killing of a police officer in New Zealand was in 2009 in Napier.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.