Also known as the ‘Madang Water Rats’, the new Madang Water Police Unit has already kicked off operations as of Wednesday this week, a day after the Madang Chamber of Commerce presented a new boat and engine to the Madang Provincial Police Commander (PPC), Superintendent Jacob Singura.
This is an attempt to curb criminal activities that have been taking place on the sea, such as sea piracy and robberies, given the two failed attempted robberies two weeks ago and the string of major robberies last year.
“The sea has been a easy getaway for the criminals so far, and we cannot catch up with them due to the lack of logistics,” Superintendent Singura said.
Just this morning, a suspect allegedly planning a major robbery was apprehended by police, and is currently undergoing interrogation. With this new six man water police unit headed by Sergeant Aiwok Anunga, the Madang police are on high alert for suspicious movements.
The new police boat has revived Madang’s police presence on the water, but as the Provincial Police Commander pointed out they still need a boost in most of their areas of operations to improve policing in the province.
“We are lacking in many areas of policing so without the support of everyone in the community, we will not achieve as much as we want to achieve to ensure everyone’s safety,” said Singura.
