No bail in meth case

By JIMMY KALEBE
THE National Court in Lae yesterday refused bail for two men charged with trafficking 52kg of methamphetamine (meth) on March 21.
This brings to three the number of suspected drug traffickers that the National Court has refused bails.
A total of eight men are alleged to have been involved in the meth trafficking which was transported from Lae’s Seventh Street to a remote airstrip in Bulolo where the drugs were airfreighted to Queenland, Australia.
The bail applications of Joshua Tupana, 33, from Siwai’s Siroi village, Bougainville, and Alfred Sanage, 35, from Dei’s Mala village, Western Highlands, were opposed by the state.
Tupana’s bail application was based on being innocent, that the charge was defective, business interest and family needs while Sanago’s application was based on being innocent to the charge and family needs.
Judge Paulus Mapa Dowa said both defendants were charged with a serious offence under the Controlled Substance Act 2021.
The duo were charged alongside four others who were still in custody.
“The court also considered the quantity and the value of the controlled substance, pending investigation, involving transnational criminal elements and was a threat to national sovereignty,” Judge Dowa added.
“Investigations are still premature and early release of the defendants from custody may have interferences with State witnesses and conditions in the Bail Act.”