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Traffic Police in Lae says the additional bus fare charged by PMV Operators within the city is illegal.

Reserve Constable, Simon Ottogoma said the authorized bus fare amount put in place by the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) remains unchanged at K1.30.

Ottogoma made this comments when addressing concerns from commuters on escalating bus fares and assured the public that PMV crew found charging above the approved rate or any passenger disputing to pay less could face penalties if reported to the traffic office.

It was clarified that this regulation applies specifically to routes within Lae City, following complaints from commuters about purported fare hikes.

PMV operators and crew members had cited increased fuel prices and recent shortages as reasons for proposed fare adjustments. However, Ottogoma reiterated the importance of adhering to the stipulated fare rate.

In a recent meeting with PMV operators, Ottogoma highlighted a concerning trend, stating that 99 percent of all crews in Lae have been operating without a crew permit, which constitutes illegal collection of fees from passengers.

He stressed the importance of acquiring the necessary permits, whether in the form of a photo ID or receipt from Traffic, which authorize crew members to collect fares in accordance with the law.

Furthermore, Ottogoma urged PMV owners to employ drivers and crew members who are well-versed in traffic regulations and signs to mitigate avoidable road accidents.

He cautioned PMV operators about the severe penalties imposed by the court for traffic-related incidents, with the highest penalty reaching K60,000 in cases where a driver is found guilty of causing an accident resulting in the death of a passenger.

The directives issued by Ottogoma aim to ensure compliance with regulations, maintain passenger safety, and uphold the integrity of the public transportation system within Lae City.

Recent: https://insidepng.com/lae-kabwum-road-launching-preparation/

by Inside PNG and OCCRP

A Chinese-born businesswoman accused of taking part in an audacious plot to fly a light plane packed with drugs from Papua New Guinea to Australia allegedly ordered a co-conspirator to pay into a bank account in the name of PNG’s former Migration Chief in order to obtain a visa, court filings show.

Mei Lin, 41, was arrested and charged in Brisbane, Australia, in January for allegedly playing a key role in facilitating a “black flight” in March 2023 that carried over 71kg of methamphetamine from a remote PNG airstrip to the Australian town of Monto.

Lin, a naturalized PNG citizen, has denied the charges.

According to a statement of facts submitted by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to a Brisbane court last week, Lin allegedly instructed one of her co-accused, Australia-based businessman Chun Li, to pay A$10,000 (US$ 6,546) to a Sydney bank account last February in order for Li to obtain a visa in order to travel to PNG and take part in the drug trafficking scheme. The money was allegedly transferred in mid-February last year.

The account at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia is simply listed in the police document as belonging to a “Stanis”. However, by using the bank’s online payment system, reporters were able to confirm that the branch and account numbers in the police document matched the full name of Stanis Hulahau, PNG’s then-chief migration officer.

Hulahau has not been charged with any crime.

“[I] am not aware of the transaction and will have to check with my Bank in Australia,” Hulahau wrote in response to questions from Inside PNG, adding that “the visa was granted electronically so there is no way I will be involved in this process.”

“I have no link to Mei Lin on the drug issue and [have] not assisted Mr Chun Li’s visa or travel to PNG to participate in drug activity as I am a leader who leads the fight against drug[s] in PNG,” he said.

The then Chief Migration Officer, Stanis Hulahau.

Hulahau resigned as migration chief earlier this month after reporting by Inside PNG, OCCRP and the ABC revealed that companies tied to Lin had received Australian government money under a controversial program to care for refugees and asylum seekers in PNG. Known as the PNG Humanitarian Program (PHP), the PNG government-administered arrangement is now under investigation over allegations that contracts had been improperly doled out and money had gone missing.

An Inside PNG-OCCRP investigation last month revealed how Lin had built a web of business ties with some of PNG’s most influential people. They include Moses Maladina, a former deputy prime minister who owns a company, Chatswood PNG, where Lin was previously employed and which has been a key contractor in the migration scheme. Maladina has denied any wrongdoing.

Lin was granted bail last week and is in Brisbane awaiting trial.

The latest police filing also contains new details alleging that last year’s black flight, if successful, was likely intended to be the first of many bringing drugs to Australia.

Police allege that Lin used a specialized encrypted communications device, under the handle “Make it Rain”, to coordinate the drug flight with members of an Australia-based syndicate that included local pilots.

The flight was intercepted in Monto on March 21 after the group had made previous unsuccessful attempts to fly to Australia, the AFP statement said. Police allege that the group intended the black flight to be the first in an “ongoing commercial business of importing methamphetamine from PNG to Australia”.

Police also stated that a forensic comparison showed similarities between the meth found on the black flight and an earlier stash of 125kg of meth seized in PNG in November 2022. Two Malaysians and two PNG nationals were reportedly charged over that previous haul.

Eight people have been charged so far over the black flight in Australia, while six others, including Chun Li, have been charged in PNG.

The case comes amid fears that PNG could become an increasingly important staging point in the lucrative trade bringing drugs to Australia, one of the world’s most expensive narcotics markets. Papua New Guinea suffers from endemic corruption, poverty and violence, and experts say organized criminals are seeking to build influence with local elites.

Related Story: https://insidepng.com/chinese-born-businesswoman-charged-over-meth-flight-built-web-of-influence-in-papua-new-guinea/

Callan Services PNG has many volunteers that help with their work. The Network of Callan Services is the largest provider of services to children and adults with disabilities in Papua New Guinea.

With their aim to help improve the lives of People living with disabilities, the Callan Services relies heavily on volunteers.

Volunteer work involves a lot of time and commitment, Michael Eran is a Community Based Rehabilitation Volunteer and works with the Callan Services in Mingende Chimbu Province.

He started training to be a Community Based Rehabilitation Volunteer in 2010 and in 2011 started as a volunteer.

“2010 I underwent training and in 2011 I received the certificate to work as a Community Based Rehabilitation Volunteer. It’s been 13 years now working for this Organization,” Michael Eran said.

His work extends to all who need the services provided by Callan Services PNG and its international partners, he works with different groups of individuals living with disabilities, which includes the blind and other various disability patients.

Michael said one of his most satisfying role as part of his volunteer work is rehabilitating paraplegics, those who are paralyzed.

“We have various people living with disability in the community, and each of them have specific Programs for their rehabilitation, to help them to be more independent, so we schedule what devices to use also what exercises they need to do, to help improve their mobility as well,” Eran said.

He said those who seek help with Callan Services, he also assesses and refers them to specialists.

Michael says he doesn’t expect much praise and recognition towards his volunteer work, he says he often gets assistance from his patients but doesn’t expect much overall. He is happy when those in his care are doing well.

“Sometimes if those I help are able to assist me in any way possible they do. They are always appreciative of the work I do to help them, especially when they get some independence in their movement and show signs of improvement,” Eran said.

Related Story: https://insidepng.com/cataract-eye-surgery-in-rural-papua-new-guinea-250124/

The West Papua Community in Port Moresby that attended a West Papua family Day Organized with the support of Governor of the National Capital District Powes Parkop, were warned by Police not to raise the Morning Star Flag that has been the symbol for West Papua’s want for Self Determination.

Frank Makanuey a Community Leader within the West Papua Community in Port Moresby was present at the West Papua Family Day celebrations and he and others Present were not too pleased when Police told them they were not allowed to raise the West Papua Morning star flag.

For West Papuans in Indonesia that do fly the West Papua Flag they are arrested for treason, the flag was first raised on the 1st of December in 1961 West Papuans used the flag to represent their nationhood to the world, translating their desires for freedom and self-government into a form made clear to the world and to the United Nations.

The Family Day was held at the Drill Hall at the University of Papua New Guinea, on Saturday and Governor of NCD Powes Parkop was the Guest Speaker during the event, the day served as a gathering of the West Papua Community, in Port Moresby to Promote and uphold their values and heritage.

Related: https://insidepng.com/west-papuans-in-port-moresby-host-family-day/

Those with West Papuan Heritage, their families and supporters of the Liberation of West Papua, gathered in Port Moresby, on Saturday, for a West Papua Family day.

The day was marked with a walk within the University of Papua New Guinea Campus, with families taking part in the walk, Governor of the National Capital District Powes Parkop who has been a long time supporter for the self determination of West Papua took part in the days activities.

The family day was held at the UPNG Drill Hall and was organized with the support of Governor Powes Parkop, the walk culminated into a session of speeches and a day filled with families and individuals sharing in the Culture and food of their West Papua heritage.

Powes Parkop has his links back to West Papua Indonesia through his grand parents, he said he has been a strong supporter for the Self Determination of West Papua since his high school days.

Papua New Guinea being the closest neighbor to Indonesia and sharing the Border with West Papua, those living in diaspora and have become citizens of Papua New Guinea, always hope the best for their families that still live in Indonesia, and as part of diplomatic talks between the two nations of PNG and Indonesia, most feel that PNG must continue to address issues that affect the people of West Papua.

Governor Parkop says that he is ready to Visit Indonesia once a PNG Delegation is confirmed to Visit.

Indonesia is expected to hold its elections in the coming weeks and most in Indonesia and outside of the region, believe that there should be a boycott of the elections by those indigenous to West Papua.

Related: https://insidepng.com/marape-clears-statement/

Mei Lin is a prominent member of Papua New Guinea’s business community, with ties to influential locals. She’s also a key player in an audacious drug trafficking plot.

KEY POINTS:
● The owner of an international network of companies, Lin is alleged to have used her cornerstone PNG business, KC 2, to store and transfer over 71 kilograms of methamphetamine from PNG to Australia.
● Born in China, Lin has built business ties to prominent PNG citizens, including a former deputy prime minister and senior members of the local Chinese diaspora.
● She obtained PNG citizenship in 2016, but appears to have falsified key parts of her life story to do so.
● Companies tied to Lin have received Australian government money under a controversial program that is now being probed for corruption.

By Julie Badui Owa, Carmel Pilotti, Kila Wani, Dan McGarry, and Aubrey Belford

Chinese-born businesswoman Mei Lin spent more than a decade building an economic empire in Papua New Guinea, spanning sectors from retail to real estate; and cultivating ties with wealthy and powerful figures in the Pacific nation.

But that world came crashing down on January 16 when Lin, 41, was arrested in the Australian city of Brisbane. Police accuse her of facilitating a “black flight” last year that smuggled over 71 kilograms of methamphetamine from a remote hillside airstrip in PNG to Australia.

The drug smuggling scheme was foiled on March 21 in a coordinated operation by PNG and Australian police, who swooped in as the light plane stopped to refuel in the rural Australian community of Monto. Six people were arrested and charged in Australia, including two pilots. Eight others were charged in PNG, including a police officer and a soldier.

But it took nine months for police to collect enough evidence to arrest and charge Lin. She is alleged to have stored the meth and organized its transportation within PNG; the Australian Federal Police said in a statement after her arrest, as well as paying for fuel for the aircraft and the use of the runway in the town of Bulolo, where it took off.

Inside PNG, in close collaboration with international partner, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), spent months investigating Lin, who had previously attracted nationwide controversy over dealings unrelated to drugs. Reporters examined thousands of pages of public documents and court records, and spoke to police in both PNG and Australia.

They found that, prior to her arrest, Lin built business ties with some of PNG’s most prominent figures, including the country’s former deputy prime minister, Moses Maladina. Companies linked to Lin appear to have also benefited from Australian government assistance to the country.

Lin is now “the prime suspect” in the methamphetamine smuggling case, said Manu Pulei, the lead PNG police investigator.

“Without Mei Lin, this thing wouldn’t have happened,” Pulei told Inside PNG.

The light plane intercepted in Australia with methamphetamine on board last
March. Supplied Image by Australian Federal Police.
The light plane intercepted in Australia with methamphetamine on board last
March.
[[Photo credit Australian Federal Police]]

PNG court records obtained by reporters show that the allegations against Lin are centered on her role as owner and boss of KC 2; a wholesale and retail firm in Lae where the meth was allegedly stored. A KC 2 employee arrested last year over the drug smuggling operation, Lin Hezhong, is her uncle.

That business, however, is just one of nearly two dozen companies involving Lin in PNG and Australia, according to corporate documents obtained by reporters.

Documents show that Lin was a manager at one company owned by former Deputy Prime Minister Maladina, Chatswood PNG, which is the subject of an investigation into the alleged abuse of Australian government funding for the care of refugees and asylum seekers in the country under Australia’s “offshore processing” regime.

Maladina and his company are not alleged to be connected to drug trafficking.

A detailed list of questions were sent to Lin’s lawyer. No response was received by press time.

In a written response to reporters’ questions, Maladina denied any wrongdoing in the migration scheme and said Lin had only briefly worked for his company.

Mei Lin
Mei Lin

“Chatswood is not and has never been involved in any illegal [activity], and we strongly oppose the use of and involvement with drugs in our society. Chatswood and its Directors and staff are NOT in any way associated with the activities of Mei Lin,” Maladina said.

Lin’s other recent business partners have included a prominent Malaysia-born business tycoon, the daughter of a former prime minister, and two prominent ethnic Chinese business figures who have played senior roles in Beijing-backed organizations in the country.

None of those people are accused of any connection to drug smuggling, and the charges against Lin have yet to be tried in court.

Lin’s case comes amid fears that rising drug trafficking through PNG could further destabilize a country that is already rife with poverty and elite corruption. The country is already awash with illegal guns and is frequently gripped by violence, such as urban riots earlier this month that killed 22 people.

Surging demand for narcotics in Australia, one of the world’s most expensive drug markets, makes PNG a natural transit point for international drug traffickers, said Jeremy Douglas, regional representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

The route the "black flight" took from Papua New Guinea to Australia
on March 21, 2023. [[ Image supplied by Edin Pašović]]
The route the “black flight” took from Papua New Guinea to Australia
on March 21, 2023. [[ Image supplied by Edin Pašović]]

“The proximity of PNG to Australia is perfect for staging shipments by small private planes [and] fishing vessels,” Douglas said.

“We’ve seen traffickers fronting as business people to build connections with local elites and power players across the region. It is simply easier to co-opt elites and officials where capacities are lower and activities are not heavily scrutinized,” Douglas said.

Unclear Origins

Lin had been a well-known — and controversial — figure in PNG even before her arrest.

Born in China’s southeastern Fujian province in 1982, Lin — who also goes by the name Gigi — claims to have immigrated to PNG with her family as a teenager, attending two of the country’s most exclusive schools, according to documents submitted to PNG authorities as part of her successful 2016 citizenship application, which were obtained by reporters.

However, the information submitted by Lin to acquire citizenship contains key inconsistencies.

Lin gave PNG authorities a letter written in error-riddled English attesting to her attendance at Port Moresby Grammar School. But school administrator, David Olley told reporters it was a “fraudulent letter” that had been signed by a person who had never worked there.

“Any agency or reader should be able to detect that it is a fraud and therefore not respect the letter,” Olley said.

Lin also told authorities she had studied at the elite Port Moresby International School . But the school’s secretary, Albina Melua, said she could find no record of Lin’s attendance.

“In 2003, there was no Lin here,” Melua said.

Whatever her true life story, public records show that Lin has, over the last decade, become a force in business in her adopted country.

She built her base of power in her adoptive hometown of Lae, a port city that acts as the gateway to PNG’s fabled highlands. Corporate documents show that Lin set up the centerpiece of her network there in 2013, the supermarket and wholesaler KC 2.

Business soon boomed, with company revenues exploding from just 6.4 million kina (US$1.7 million in current value) in 2013, to over 121 million kina ($33 million) by 2022.

Lin soon built a reputation as a local power player who treated even public officials “just like talking to an ordinary friend or colleague or employee,” said Joikere Kusip, a lawyer who has worked for her.

Lin also began to attract critical nationwide attention, after local media reports alleged that she had improperly obtained state-owned land and violently evicted tenants. One of her land deals was ruled illegal, and Lin was questioned by a parliamentary committee in 2021.

Elite Education and ‘Kwik Moni’

Negative publicity doesn’t appear to have slowed Lin’s rise among PNG’s movers and shakers.

Corporate records show that Lin has over the last decade established at least a dozen other PNG-based companies, along with other close family members and partners. The firms have spanned sectors including property, security, nightclubs, gambling, and finance.

Lin’s list of business associates has included some prominent local names.

In 2020, Lin became a founding director of the Raggiana International Academy, an elite school in Lae, partly owned by Vanessa Chan-Pelgen, the daughter of former PNG Prime Minister, Sir Julius Chan. Lin is still a director at the academy. Chan-Pelgen did not respond to questions about Lin’s association with the school.

The following year, Lin co-founded a new financial institution, Kwik Moni, alongside a roster of other well-known figures in PNG.

Kwik Moni bills itself as a lender for personal expenses including “school fees, bride price, funeral expenses… and any worthwhile purposes.”

Lin’s fellow shareholders included Jimmy Poh, a Malaysia-born businessman whose interests include high-profile property developments in the capital, Port Moresby. He was previously a director of a major PNG health supplies company, Borneo Pacific Pharmaceuticals. Founded by his brother, Martin, Borneo Pacific has been a key supplier of medical kits and drugs to the PNG government. Australia reportedly withdrew funding for a PNG health program involving Borneo in 2013, citing concerns over how the company was awarded the contract and allegations by doctors that it had imported substandard drugs into the country.

Poh did not respond to questions about his business ties with Lin.

Other partners in Kwik Moni include two people who have held senior roles in the China and PNG Friendship Association, an advocacy organization for the Chinese diaspora in the country. Although ostensibly aimed at promoting bilateral relations and the interests of overseas Chinese, analysts say such organizations ultimately fall under the control of the ruling Chinese Communist Party under a so-called “United Front” strategy to push Beijing’s interests abroad.

One of these Kwik Moni partners, Billy Huaan Lin, also hails from Fujian province and is the owner of a network of companies in PNG including a Port Moresby-based car dealership, 2 Fast Motors Ltd. He has served in several leadership roles in the China and PNG Friendship Association. He has also played an intermediary role in PNG’s security relationship with China, donning a PNG police uniform and traveling with PNG officers to China for training, according to Chinese media coverage.

Screenshot of video showing Billy Huaan Lin, center, in PNG police uniform, at a training for PNG law enforcement in China. [[Photo credit: : Sohu.com]]

Another partner in Kwik Moni, Irene Wan Xia Seeto, has been identified in local media as recently as 2021 as chapter head of the China-PNG association in the township of Rabaul.

Screenshot from Facebook of Irene Wan Xia Seeto. [[Photo credit: Facebook]]
Screenshot from Facebook of Irene Wan Xia Seeto. [[Photo credit: Facebook]]

Neither Billy Lin nor Irene Seeto responded directly to requests for comment from OCCRP, but after questions were sent to them and Poh, Kwik Moni issued a press release saying that Mei Lin had been “requested to resign from the board and dispose of her shareholdings” in March 2023, after the company became aware of allegations against her. Indeed, corporate records obtained by reporters show that Lin relinquished her stake in the company last April, about three weeks after the meth flight. The shares were transferred to her father and another person, who appears to be a relative.

But Lin’s alleged involvement in the flight did not deter her Kwik Moni business partner, Seeto, from continuing their business relationship. Corporate records from Australia show that Seeto and Lin opened a new company together in August 2023, called IG Developments Pty Ltd, which lists its place of business as what appears to be an empty lot in suburban Brisbane. It is unclear what the company does.

Lin and the Malaysian-born businessman Poh have also remained partners in a Port Moresby-based company, Arabica Coffee Exports (PNG) Ltd, according to company filings.

OCCRP and Inside PNG are not alleging any wrongdoing by Poh, Seeto, or Billy Lin.

Immigration Deals

Some of Lin’s most consequential dealings relate to her business relationship with the former
PNG deputy prime minister, Maladina.

That relationship was first reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on January 20, but OCCRP and Inside PNG have uncovered additional documents that provide further detail on the ties between Maladina and Lin.

Moses Maladina
Moses Maladina. [[Photo credit: Kumul Consolidated Holdings Limited]]

Maladina has recently faced scrutiny over allegations that the company he founded, Chatswood PNG, has mismanaged funds granted by Australia under a secret deal to care for migrants left in the country by Australia’s much-criticized policy of turning back boats carrying asylum seekers.

Australia’s Home Affairs Department in late 2021 handed over to PNG authorities responsibility for the accommodation and welfare of previously detained migrants living in the country and awaiting refugee resettlement. The agreement came with a commitment by Australia to provide an undisclosed amount of funding, in an arrangement known as the PNG humanitarian program (PHP).

Maladina’s Chatswood PNG, which was designated a key service provider under the deal, soon faced allegations from migrants that it was failing to provide services like food deliveries. PNG’s immigration minister pledged an investigation last October after whistleblower complaints from within PNG’s Immigration and Citizenship Authority alleged that millions of dollars had likely gone missing under the scheme, and that Chatswood PNG was allegedly involved in fraudulent billing.

Maladina told reporters that Chatswood PNG was just one of several contractors on the PHP and that “the person named as Mei Lin has absolutely no association with the company in its Ownership, Shareholding or Directorship,” he said. Lin had only worked for the company’s property division for two months “on a casual basis,” he said. He gave a similar statement to the ABC.

However, OCCRP and Inside PNG have obtained documents that appear to show that Mei Lin did in fact play a senior role in Chatswood PNG. These include a February 2022 letter bearing the company’s seal and signed by Lin, in which she identified herself as the “property manager” of Chatswood PNG, and a Chatswood PNG corporate visa card in her name.

Namora Niugini, a Lin family business, is also alleged by the whistleblower to have been involved in fraudulently charging the PHP in concert with Chatswood PNG.

PNG’s chief migration officer, Stanis Hulahau, has previously told local media that Namora Niugini was a contractor on the project, while Chatswood PNG was the program case manager. The company “provided groceries/vouchers and an allowance for the refugees,” Hulahau was quoted as saying.

A third company, bearing the name PNG Humanitarian Program Ltd was established by Maladina in October 2021, two months before the bilateral agreement was inked, corporate records show. It was transferred to Lin’s ownership five months later and subsequently renamed ABC Enterprises. It is unclear if the firm has played a role in the administration of the migration scheme.

Maladina told OCCRP and Inside PNG that his company had no direct relationship to Namora
Niugini.

Maladina also said that although he had “assisted” in the establishment of PNG Humanitarian Program Ltd, he “had no involvement whatsoever [in] the subsequent creation of ABC Enterprises Ltd… [and] no knowledge of its business and functions.”

Australia’s Department of Home Affairs said in a written response that reporters’ questions were “a matter for the PNG government.”

Hulahau did not respond to questions.

New Evidence

Despite Lin’s growing prominence in PNG, law enforcement appeared to have been unaware of any alleged connection between Lin and drugs prior to last year’s meth flight.

Inside PNG and OCCRP reconstructed the investigation using public documents, PNG court
records, and interviews with police in both PNG and Australia.

Australian police arresting Mei Lin in her Brisbane home on January 16.
[[Picture credit: Australian Federal Police]]
Australian police arresting Mei Lin in her Brisbane home on January 16.
[[Picture credit: Australian Federal Police]]

The investigation that foiled the flight started in late 2022 in Australia’s commercial capital, Sydney, where AFP narcotics investigators picked up intelligence that a group including local pilots and their associates allegedly intended to fly meth into Australia from PNG.

At least one similar scheme had been attempted before. In 2020, a light plane weighed down by a reported half-tonne of cocaine crashed in PNG’s forests while attempting to reach Australia.

The following year, a raid on a hotel in PNG’s capital of Port Moresby reportedly uncovered a meth lab operated by an Australian citizen. The suspect was released after local authorities made the embarrassing discovery that methamphetamine had not yet been added to the country’s list of controlled substances.

So, after getting wind last year that a group of Australians including pilots were allegedly plotting to import meth by plane from PNG, the AFP put the group under surveillance. They worked with other Australian law enforcement and PNG police to spring a trap on both sides of the Torres Strait, which separates Australia from its northern neighbor.

At the time, they were still unaware of the identity of Mei Lin or her alleged accomplices in PNG, AFP Eastern Command investigations head Kate Ferry told OCCRP.

“The AFP and [PNG police] were investigating who was involved in the drug import plot in PNG but we did not identify the alleged offenders until the day of the flight,” Ferry said.

Arrests in PNG on March 21 led police to a warehouse owned by Lin’s KC 2 that served as a
storage point for the meth, which a chemical analysis found was similar to drugs produced by Mexican cartels.

Officers found that Lin had left Lae for Australia the day before the meth flight. Two days after that, she was questioned at Brisbane airport as she prepared to fly to Taiwan. She was allowed to depart after insufficient evidence was found to arrest her. She subsequently returned to Australia and lived in Brisbane until her arrest.

But back in PNG, the investigation into the eight suspects arrested there eventually produced evidence –– including CCTV footage and testimony –– that allegedly implicated Lin.

That investigation is ongoing and authorities will release only “limited information” until it is complete, PNG’s police minister Peter Tsiamalili said in a January 22 statement.

“These international criminal networks, particularly from parts of Asia, are organized and the damage they cause to people in our countries is devastating,” Tsiamalili said.

On the 11th to the 18th of November in 2023 Callan Services with the support of donor partners, including Christian Blind Mission, held a successful, one week Cataract eye surgery program in Mingende Chimbu Province.

Cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of your eye (the clear part of the eye that helps to focus light). Cataracts are very common as you get older.

Callan services in the Mingende area of Chimbu Province, have been hosting the surgery for the past almost 20 years as an annual program.

Hopeful Cataract patients at Mingende awaiting evaluation.

The surgery is most sought after and many from all the provinces in the Highlands region make the pilgrimage to Mingende to get the corrective eye surgery.

With the rugged terrain across Papua New Guinea many in the rural highlands struggle to make their way to the hospital for the surgery.

The Callan services Program Coordinator in Mingende, Angela Mua in Mingende said some of these patients are carried from their villagers by relatives and Volunteers.

Areas in Chimbu Province are mountainous and some of the patients are carried in to the resource center.

So they sometimes don’t have a place to stay so we accommodate them at our resource center, so we have to charge fees to these patients, but we collect the fees and it helps us to feed the patients and their Guardians.

A program like the cataract eye surgery is very expensive, and Callan Services PNG are always grateful for the support from donor partners.

Mua mentioned that one of their longtime partners Christian Blind Mission.

“Christian Blind Mission (CBM) is our main donor to the resource center since 2002, for activities administration and wages for staff,” Mua said

Doctors are flown in for the surgery while the support staff from the various eye clinics in the Highlands region.

Damian Sungu the Officer In Charge (OIC) of the Goroka Eye Clinic said they were here to help with the surgery, he himself has been part of the program since its inception.

“Cataract is like a prison, because the patients are left to stay at home and they cannot do much, so we thank our Community Based Rehabilitation teams, who move around in the Villages through some of the most toughest terrains, just to look for these men and women who suffer from Cataract, they do the initial screening to determine the cataract and later on refer them for surgery,” Sungu said

The week long program was a huge success with more than a 100 patients going in for surgery, in the past it was an all expatriate team of Doctors which led the surgery but in the past few years it has been an all Papua New Guinean team delivering the success of the cataract eye surgery in Mingende Chimbu Province.

Matthew Aeno Mala, a patient from Eastern Highlands province made the trip to Mingende, after the success of his eye surgery he was pleased with the results and praised all that made it possible for the week long program that helped many not only to restore their vision but to get back their lives.

“I thank Callan Services PNG for the surgery, I maybe in my 60s but I still can contribute to society and also work for myself, I know I am a useful member of my community,” Aeno Mala said

Moresby South MP, Justin Tkatchenko says there is no time to waste on the blame game, instead let’s move forward to rebuild Port Moresby.

In a recent statement, Tkatchenko said he was sad to see his electorate go up in flames and described the actions of the looters appalling and pathetic.

“These actions of those looters and civilians is going to cause innocent Papua New Guineas of Moresby South great despair and grievance and harm over the next months and years ahead,” stated Tkatchenko.

He said not only has this impacted the jobs of some good, honest, hardworking individuals; the repercussions will affect the greater community of Moresby South and all other residents of Port Moresby.

“These buildings and infrastructure are going to take years to rebuild and restock, and most business houses now do not want to come back and rebuild again.”

NCD Governor, Powes Parkop.

Tkatchenko has extended his full support in helping NCD Governor, Powes Parkop and Prime Minister, James Marape to clean-up and rebuild Port Moresby city and restore peace and order back into communities.

“It’s not going to be easy, but we must all work in partnership together, this is not about politics any more but about getting our services back to our people that truly deserve it.”

The recovery of stolen items taken during the looting in Port Moresby on January 10th is underway as security personnel are out in the streets retrieving the items.

Acting State of Emergency Controller in NCD Donald Yamasombi has advised looters in NCD and Central to return all stolen items to the stores they were taken from.

While the specifics of the SOE Orders are still being put together, acting controller Yamasombi says there will be no curfews but restrictions on movement of people.

InsidePNG understands in the next several hours, the SOE guidelines will be made public, enabling security staff to execute SOE directives.

Police have advised that all stolen property from Brian Bell must be brought back to the warehouse yard at Gerehu where it was set on fire.

Police begin recovery of stolen items

In the aftermath of unprecedented violence, Papua New Guinea’s retail giant, CPL Group, has been left reeling. Founder Sir Mahesh Patel, who dedicated nearly four decades to building this business, now confronts a grim reality as multiple outlets lay in ruins

InsidePNG sat down with Sir Mahesh Patel as he shared on what he called “one of the darkest days” in the history of Papua New Guinea’s Capital City, Port Moresby…

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