Papua New Guinea’s police commissioner David Manning says a man allegedly involved in the kidnapping of 17 girls earlier this year has been arrested.

Commissioner Manning said the man was wanted in connection with a series of criminal activities within the Mt Bosavi area bordering Hela, Southern Highlands, and Western provinces.

“Among the alleged crimes committed by the individual are the armed robbery of K100,000 [NZ$46,000] in cash, the killing of a Chinese national, and multiple cases of rape at the Kamusi logging camp and surrounding villages in the Delta Fly region since 2019,” the commissioner said.

• READ MORE: ‘We chose death over being raped’ – PNG kidnap survivor speaks out
• Other PNG crime reports

“Recently, the arrested man was also allegedly involved in the kidnapping of 17 girls in the Mt Bosavi area.”

Manning said the police and PNG Defence Force officers, acting on intelligence reports from the community, tracked down the man at the Komon Market in Tari, Hela province.

“He was arrested, and a homemade pistol and 5.56 ammunition confiscated,” he said

The commissioner said the arrest would bring a sense of relief to the affected communities, as the investigation continues.

“At the same time, we are sending a strong message to the criminals and those who aid, abet and benefit from them, that they will be caught and dealt with, sooner or later by whatever force is deemed necessary.”

Breakthrough in election incident
Police have also arrested the main suspect in the shooting of a helicopter hired by police during the 2022 National General Election.

This man is the main suspect in the killings and the burning of Kompiam Station and has been charged with five counts of wilful murder and one count of arson.

Manning said the investigation into the various crimes carried out in Kompiam during the 2022 National General Election continues.

“New evidence has come to light of the involvement of senior provincial and national leaders in Kompiam during the election in 2022,” he said.

“Our investigation continues, but the information we have uncovered thus far is concerning.

“It is a sorry state of affairs when the government is working to end violence and we find that leaders are encouraging these crimes to be committed.”

The police chief said following the recent killings in Wapenamanda, two additional mobile squads had been deployed into the area to assist the Enga Provincial Police Command to restore law and order.

“A fight in the Kandep has already left 22 killed, and other fighting in Laiagam has resulted in the killing of six people and 20 in Wapenamanda.

“We are facing serious law and order situation in the province and engaging security personnel and applying strategies to stop those fights from escalating.

“This includes active involvement of provincial and national leaders from the province to engage and take responsibility.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Papua New Guinea’s acting Prime Minister Soroi Eoe says the specific lockdown measures planned for the covid-19 spike in some provinces has not been released as stated this week because the Pandemic Control Centre was not ready.

This is because there of co-ordination needed to happen over the next seven days to allow for this.

The National Isolation Strategy and the government’s plan in relation to the covid-19 spike in the country will be released later.

• READ MORE: Other PNG covid spike reports

Eoe assured business houses in the capital Port Moresby and across the nation that there would not be any lockdown, but strict protocols and measures would still be in place.

He said there would not be any nationwide lockdown — just in selected provinces — and that the measures to be announced would be “friendlier, but strict”.

Eoe said all reports circulating on social media were “fake news”, basically because they did not come from an official authority and that the government would officially announce its position.

Dispel social media reports
“I think the actual framework was already given yesterday, to dispel the notion that’s been propagated in social media that the government’s plan to bring in a state of emergency will shut down the operation of the government which is not true,” he said.

Eoe said the government would be selectively looking at three provinces that had an increase in covid-19 cases — Western Province, Eastern Highlands and West Sepik. It would also closely monitor Enga, Morobe and the National Capital District as announced on Wednesday.

“We are taking into consideration the views of the people, but at the same time, emphasising the seriousness of covid-19 … we need to vaccinate our population,” he said.

“We are not locking down businesses, that’s our lifeline — come on, we can’t survive without business, they are the ones that keep the economy going, that’s what this assurance is.”

Gorethy Kenneth is a PNG Post-Courier senior journalist.

Papua New Guinea has dispatched a team of government officials to investigate a covid-19 delta variant threat in its two frontline provinces bordering Indonesia’s Papua — Western and West Sepik.

Health Minister Jelta Wong has revealed this in Parliament while responding to questions without notice.

Admitting the rise of delta cases in the two provinces that share land and sea borders with Indonesia was a “major concern”, he told Parliament last week that the investigating team was due back in Port Moresby today and would report to government.

• READ MORE: More reports on PNG covid delta strain

He was replying to a question from the Member for Aitape-Lumi, Patrick Pruaitch, who had asked what the government was doing to address the delta cases in the two border provinces.

Pruaitch said Western and West Sepik provinces were currently experiencing an increase in covid-19 that had already killed several people as reported in newspapers.

He said it was important that the government took a “frontline approach” to prevent the deadly delta variant from spreading.

Pruaitch wanted the minister to tell the nation what measures and plans it had to address the crisis, and also reveal the level of funding it had made to mitigate the spread of the variant.

Investigators on the ground
Minister Wong said the government had already dispatched the surveillance team to the two border provinces to investigate, identify the needs and report back to government.

Wong said the team would report the findings to the government which would then decide on action to be taken and funding.

The team also included some development aid partners.

Minister Wong said the variant was real and serious and was now threatening PNG with several deaths already reported, especially in Western Province.

He said while it was an individual’s choice to be vaccinated or not, it was vital for MPs to be responsible and to educate their people.

They needed to tell them the truth about the need for vaccination and about the virus that was now a threat to humanity.

Indonesia has a growing covid-19 crisis with almost 4.2 million cases, 138,889 deaths and only 15 percent of the 270 million people vaccinated.

Jeffrey Elapa is a PNG Post-Ciurier reporter.

Papua New Guinea and neighbouring Indonesia have been discussing a potential reopening of their shared border.

The border was officially closed early last year due to the covid-19 pandemic, but the illegal movement of people back and forth has continued across the porous international boundary.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape met with Indonesia’s Ambassador in Port Moresby, Andriana Supandy, and agreed that the border must be properly policed to prevent the spread of covid-19.

• READ MORE: Other reports on the PNG-Indonesian border

Indonesia’s heath system is being stretched with high covid infection rates, and PNG has also struggled to contain the spread of the virus.

No date has been given for when the border may reopen officially.

In others areas discussed, Supandy proposed for the two countries to enter into a Free Trade Agreement to boost trade and commerce, citing the potential as demonstrated in the success of vanilla trade between PNG and Indonesia.

The ambassador also informed Prime Minister Marape that Indonesia has already ratified the Border and Defence Cooperation Agreement and Land Border Transport Agreement and was awaiting PNG to do the same.

He said these agreements would pave the way for a more robust bilateral tie between the two countries.

On West Papua, the diplomat said that Indonesia appreciated the consistent position that PNG government has taken in acknowledging that the western half of New Guinea was an integral part of Indonesia.

He said the West Papuan self-determination demands remained an internal issue for Indonesia to resolve.

A release from Marape’s office also said both countries had discussed the need for joint cooperation in power connectivity to areas in PNG’s Western and West Sepik provinces.

Military donation
The Indonesian military has donated an aircraft engine to the PNG Defence Force Air Transport Squadron for one of its aircraft to be used for operations in the 2022 general election.

Marape also confirmed yesterday that US$14 million would be ballocated in 2021 and 2022 to ensure all aircraft were ready to be used next year.

The The National newspaper reports Marape saying the aircraft would also be used in enforce transborder security.

The head of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Strategic Intelligence Agency, Lieutenant-General Joni Supriyanto, arrived on a Lockheed C-130H Hercules in Port Moresby yesterday with the engine.

He said transporting the overhauled Casa aircraft engine to PNG “would enhance relationship and cooperation between the armed forces contributing to security and stability in the region”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A prominent Australian lawyer, Greg Sheppard, has been arrested by Papua New Guinean police and is facing a range of fraud charges.

Sheppard, a principal of Young & Williams Lawyers, was arrested on Tuesday in Port Moresby.

He was charged with two counts of misappropriation and another two counts of money laundering.

• READ MORE: PNG police arrest Australian lawyer on K268m mining trust fund charges
• Other Western Province trust fund reports

Police say the charges relate to Sheppard’s alleged involvement in the transfer of funds amounting to US$14.5 million (52 million kina) in 2018.

These funds were part of the US$75 million (K268 million) that were unlawfully withdrawn from a trust fund established to finance development projects in PNG’s Western province, the Western Province People’s Dividends Trust Account.

Sheppard, 65, was previously arrested and charged by PNG police in January in relation to the same criminal investigation.

At the time he was charged with two counts of conspiracy and another two counts of false pretence.

So far, the defendant has been charged with a total of eight offences.

Sheppard has done extensive work in PNG over recent years, recently representing the country’s former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and Opposition Leader Belden Namah among other prominent leaders.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Papua New Guinea police have arrested and charged prominent Australian lawyer Greg Sheppard on allegations related to funds belonging to a K268 million (NZ$105 million) Western Province People’s Dividends Trust Account, reports the PNG Post-Courier.

The account is also known as the Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) Trust Fund held with ANZ Bank and was set up to benefit about 147,000 indigenous landowners and villagers in 58 villages impacted on by mining.

He was detained by the Special Police Forensic and Criminal Investigation Team (SPFCIT) during a lunch hour at a restaurant in Waigani on Wednesday, and taken to police headquarters in Konedobu for questioning.

• READ MORE: Australian lawyer Greg Sheppard arrested in PNG over mining fund
• Arrested woman accused of embezzling K268 million
• Police arrest prominent lawyer linked to Western Province dividend fund saga
• Australian lawyer charged over major fraud in PNG

After five hours of interview, Sheppard was arrested and charged with two counts of false pretences and two counts of conspiracy to defraud. He was released on a K3000 (NZ$1170) police bail.

Sheppard was reported by other media to be a former Queensland prosecutor who has lived in Papua New Guinea for more than three decades.

Police did not give any other detail on the charges but the Post-Courier understands that the investigation and arrest of Sheppard stems from a formal complaint lodged by the Open Member for North Fly Electorate, James Donald, with the Office of the Police Commissioner.

Woman arrested from Daru
Last week, the Post-Courier reported a 45-year-old woman, Edna Oai, from South Fly District in Western Province had been picked up from Daru by the SPFCIT and flown to Port Moresby.

She was formally charged with 15 counts of false pretences, conspiracy and misappropriation.

Her arrest also stems from the same complaint.

The investigation reportedly established that the funds were diverted and paid to a certain law firm, a company owned by the secretary of OTFRDF Ltd, specific directors’ personal bank accounts and other companies between August 2018 and early 2020.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a statement from Police Commissioner David Manning said the investigation was ongoing over “unauthorised expenditure” of the trust money.

This week a disaster relief team operating out of Mougulu in Western Province demonstrated how key partnerships can lead directly to efficient outcomes.

As the largest earthquake in more than 100 years rocked the centre of New Guinea in the early hours of February 26, I lay petrified in my bed, listening as things fell all through the house.

As the shock waves subsided, I flipped on my phone and checked in with my friends in Mt Hagen, Goroka, Lae. They were shaken, but ok. But we were the fortunate ones.

Days passed and every day we learned more of what had befallen the people nearer the epicentre. I knew I had to do something to help the people most affected. I contacted Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and my longtime friend Sally Lloyd, a woman who not only grew up in Mougulu where her parents have served the Biami people for 50 years, but who has devoted much of her adult life to continuing that legacy and selflessly serving her people in that area.

“I want to help. Is there anything you think I can help with?” I asked. “Yes!” was the reply.

Preparing for the journey to Mougulu
By the time March 4 came around, I was in Hagen coming up to speed on the information that was coming in on the HF radio network and through the MAF pilots who were working in the affected areas southwest of the earthquake.

Following meetings with MAF and the PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) and their Australian Defence Force(ADF) counterparts on March 5, a plan was formed that Sally and I would go to Mougulu in Western Province and form part of a forward operating base to help MAF and MAF’s partners facilitate the disaster relief work.

I bought some tinfish and rice and charged up my phone.

That night, Sally told me the good news that Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) was working with the office of the MP for North Fly, James Donald, and that a helicopter and pilot would be ready to assist our work the next morning.

On March 6, we were picked up by a helicopter in Hagen and taken to Huya and Dodomona, two of the worst affected places on this side of Mt Sisa. Sally wanted to stay overnight with the people at Huya so that she could get a good sense of what was happening there.

I reckoned I could do a night with the refugees at Dodomona; after all, what’s the worst that could happen?

Earthquake strikes
Our assessment process involved meeting with the ward councillors and pastors, the village recorders and the local leaders. We did earthquake education, listened, prayed with them and asked about health problems, displaced persons, damages to houses and gardens, injured and missing persons, deaths.

By the time midnight struck, I was fast asleep, but only just.

Just in time to be lifted out of bed by a 6.7M earthquake detonating under Dodomona like a nuclear bomb.

By the time I got out of the house, part of it had fallen. The aid post which had stood for 38 years had fallen to the ground. People had minor injuries and were standing in the dark, afraid to go near the houses that they’d been sleeping in moments before.

A pile of mumu stones that I’d stood on to take a photo six hours earlier had vibrated so fiercely that the stones were now spread out all over the village. But we had it easy.

Over at Huya, Sally and the refugees huddled on the airstrip as the cliffs in the distance gave way, weakened a week earlier by the 7.5M, and huge landslides now fell, one after the other, for hours. The noise of a rushing howling wind thundered down on them.

People cried out in fear. The slopes below the airstrip fell away into the river. Cracks opened in the airstrip as the shock waves went on and on.

At dawn we surveyed the damage. We cared for those we could and arranged for medevacs for those who needed more than first aid.

Later that day we met up in Mougulu with team volunteer Samson Suale, MP James Donald, North Fly Project Officer Larry Franklin and officers from the Western Province Disaster Office and the North Fly District Disaster Office.

As a matter of high priority, even before coffee, I related my findings from Dodomona to the group. People were missing and presumed dead. Others were believed to be trapped and dying on the other side of a treacherous, mud-choked river.

We looked at each other. “Let’s go!” several of us said at once.

The clean-up begins
That was nearly three weeks ago. Every day since has been that intense, that focused, that full-on.

We found the “dead” people. They weren’t dead. We found the missing people. We conducted our community assessments in 26 locations from Tinahae in the north to Fogomaiyu in the south, carefully identifying and communicating which locations which will need ongoing aid and which will not.

We learned which people were displaced, where they were moving, and what they were fleeing.

We moved patients who needed help to the health center at Mougulu. Nearly 20 of them. We rescued a woman with cerebral palsy who had been abandoned by her community as they fled. She was alone for nearly four days before I came in the helicopter to take her back to where her community had fled.

We’ve dismantled the fallen aid post at Dodomona and rebuilt it in three days. Take what is fallen, make something useful out of it, get on with life.

Two newly graduated community health workers volunteered to treat patients there with medicines that we got out of Hagen. They’re there now, treating yaws, grille, diarrhea and so many sores.

We’ve installed water tanks at Dodomona, Adumari and Huya. We’ve helped the Rural Airstrip Agency conduct a two-day technical assessment of the fractures in the airstrip at Huya which will allow a plan to be put in place for its repair and re-opening.

We’ve given people the tools they’ll need to rebuild houses, gardens, lives. Hundreds of tools, thousands of packets of nails.

And, of course, we’ve delivered aid. Food aid. Water. Tarpaulins, tents, pots and blankets. Family hygiene kits. All donated by individuals, churches, business houses, CARE International, the North Fly MP’s Office, OTML. All of it flown by Adventist Aviation Services, MAF, Summer Institute of Linguistics (SI), and the ADF Chinooks.

This natural disaster has highlighted what many of us have known all along, that there are people living on the outer edges of Papua New Guinea. People like you and me.

People, however, who do not have soap or salt, a school or an aid post. People whose lives have been shattered by the mountain collapsing beneath them and who must now survive long enough to rebuild.

For the people gathered now at Adumari, Dodomona, Huya and Walagu, perhaps their greatest need now is that their plight is not politicised nor impeded by infighting among the aid groups.

They have a long road ahead of them as they decide whether or not to permanently abandon their damaged homes and villages, and if so, how to build new lives that are full of meaning and possibility.

Our small team here at Mougulu has shown how cooperation and transparency can achieve significant outcomes and I, for one, am proud that I was part of that.

Anton Lutz is an American missionary living in Papua New Guinea. This article was first published on Scott Waide’s blog My Land, My Country and has been republished by Asia Pacific Report with permission.

• More PNG earthquake stories