Two PNG police officers were taken into custody along with three other individuals after a raid on a Port Moresby hotel room on Saturday, where they were allegedly found possessing and consuming methamphetamine. Photo: Supplied / RPNGC
The arrest of a senior police inspector and a constable in Port Moresby over the weekend has again drawn the spotlight on the integrity of Papua New Guinea's police force and the nation's methamphetamine crisis.
The two officers were taken into custody along with three other individuals after a raid on a Port Moresby hotel room on Saturday, where they were allegedly found possessing and consuming methamphetamine.
In a statement, the National Capital District (NCD) Metropolitan Superintendent Warrick Simatab said a police forensic team had verified the substance found was methamphetamine.
"This operation is a direct result of excellent intelligence work by my police team," Superintendent Simatab said, acknowledging that a tip-off from the public was crucial.
He issued a stern warning to other officers, saying those who "act as criminals in disguise in police uniform...will be treat[ed] like other criminals".
Superintendent Simatab has flagged the "summary termination" of the two officers from the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC). They are expected to be prosecuted as civilians.
He added that one of the officers was already facing unrelated disciplinary and criminal allegations.
The arrests are a stark illustration of a problem that has grown in recent years. PNG's geographic location and porous borders have made it an attractive transit point for international crime syndicates moving drugs, particularly methamphetamine and cocaine, to Australia.
For many in PNG, the alleged involvement of police in the drug trade confirms long-held suspicions that the very individuals tasked with combating it are participants. Photo: Supplied / RPNGC
While major international trafficking plots, like the 611kg cocaine shipment linked to a crashed Cessna in 2020, have made headlines, the methamphetamine problem is now deeply entrenched at a community level, fuelling a rise in violent crime and social decay.
The link between international and local distribution was recently highlighted by the arrest of Lae-based businesswoman Mei Lin by the Australian Federal Police.
Lin is accused of facilitating the transport of 71kg of methamphetamine from a remote PNG airstrip into Australia.
For many in PNG, the alleged involvement of police in the drug trade confirms long-held suspicions that the very individuals tasked with combating it are participants.
The incident comes just a week after the detention of three police officers in Port Moresby in connection with the alleged rape of a 22-year-old woman at a police station. The case, which the United Nations described as a "grave breach of public trust," has ignited intense scrutiny of the RPNGC's recruitment and disciplinary processes.
Police Commissioner David Manning confirmed one of the officers arrested in that case had been convicted and sentenced to over 14 years in prison in 2012 but was never "officially" dismissed from the force, describing it as a disgraceful dereliction of duty by his then-supervisors.
These back-to-back scandals involving police personnel have severely damaged public trust in an institution already struggling with chronic under-resourcing and persistent allegations of corruption.
Superintendent Simatab has said the weekend's drug arrests as a necessary step in a wider clean-up of the force.
"The RPNGC is unwavering in its commitment to addressing law and order challenges and is working tirelessly to win back and maintain public trust," he said. "We are actively separating the bad apples from the good."
The five suspects are now detained at Boroko police cells and are awaiting formal charges.
