Life imprisonment or up to K2m fine for drug traffickers, peddlers in Papua New Guinea
News that matter in Papua New Guinea
Life imprisonment or up to K2m fine for drug traffickers, peddlers in Papua New Guinea
PORT MORESBY: Drug traffickers, peddlers and consumers in Papua New
Guinea (PNG) will now face life imprisonment or a fine of up to K2 million
under new laws.
Parliament on Thursday (Dec 2, 2021) passed the
Controlled Substance Bill 2021 aimed at controlling the use of illicit or
controlled substances and abuse of illicit drugs and precursors.
The bill covers cocaine, ice (methamphetamine) and all
matter of drugs, including the use of certain medicines for mixing and
developing illegal drugs.
The tabling and passing of the bill was reported by The National:
New drug laws
passed
December 3, 2021The
NationalMain Stories
By GYNNIE KERO
ANYONE caught trafficking, peddling or consuming illicit drugs or
controlled substances will face life imprisonment or a fine of up to K2 million
under the new laws.
Yesterday, the 71 MPs in Parliament were in favour of the Controlled Substance
Bill 2021 aimed at controlling the use of illicit drugs or controlled
substances and abuse of illicit drugs and precursors.
Politicians and lawmakers eventually put together the laws that would give the
judicial system and courts the tools to prosecute drug dealers and discourage
international networks using Papua New Guinea as a transit point.
Justice Minister Bryan Kramer said the Bill was consistent with international
standards in criminalising transnational offences such as drug trafficking.
He also said the bill would now allow the country to cooperate with other
jurisdictions in facilitating evidence pertaining to drug offences committed in
Papua New Guinea and abroad.
There was no such law previously, only the illicit drug law largely dealing
with marijuana abuse or trafficking that carried a maximum prison time of two
years.
Prime Minister James Marape said the country was serious about these new laws.
He said policy was another issue but PNG was raising penalty for anything to do
with drugs in the country.
“Law is in place, we are not targeting anyone, we want to be drug-free,” Marape
said.
“We want to look after our country and prevent illicit drugs entering it.”
Attorney-General and Department of Justice secretary Dr Eric Kwa earlier said
the bill was comprehensive, modern and on par with similar drug laws in
Australia, Samoa and the Cook Islands.
“We tried to put the death sentence for possessing drugs such as Malaysia (and)
Indonesia, but based on other considerations, we decided to put life
(imprisonment) to 50 years in the law,” Dr Kwa explained.
“So the amount of prison (term) ranges from the volume and the toxicity of the
drug. The new Controlled Substance Bill will cover cocaine, ice (crystal
methamphetamine) and all matter of drugs, including the use of certain
medicines for mixing and developing illegal drugs.
Dr Kwa said under the new law, offenders could be either prosecuted in the district
or National Court, depending on the severity of the offence.
He also said under the new law, fines and jail terms would be based on the
amount of drugs an offender had in his or her possession. “It will go by grams
and volumes; the toxicity of the drug will also be accounted for in terms of
when we charge you,” Dr Kwa said.
“Hopefully, with this new law, we will now stop the migration of cocaine into
PNG.”
Dr Kwa said previously, there was no law concerning cocaine.
He clarified that police would arrest, charge and prosecute offenders under the
new law.
Parliament rose and resumes on Jan 18.
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