Hundreds of cars missing after Papua New Guinea summit

Papua New Guinea police are appealing for the return of vehicles lent to officials during the 2018 Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit.

The fleet, including luxury models, was imported so that visiting leaders and dignitaries could be transported in comfort while there for the Apec inter-governmental forum last November. However, almost 300 of the vehicles haven’t been returned.

“There are 284 vehicles that were issued to personnel to use during Apec that haven’t been returned as yet,” said Superintendent Dennis Corcoran, who heads the State Asset Recovery Unit.

The most expensive vehicles have already been tracked down and recovered, including 40 Maseratis that the poverty-stricken country was heavily criticised for acquiring. “All 40 of the Maseratis and the three Bentleys are in top condition and locked away in the old wharf shed down on the main wharf,” Corcoran told Reuters.

Some of the lesser vehicles weren’t so lucky, however, with Corcoran saying police knew of nine that had been stolen and several others with serious damage.

The vehicles still to be accounted for include Toyota Land Cruisers, Mitsubishi Pajeros, various Fords and Mazdas.

Returning the vehicles is critical, as the government promised to auction them off to private buyers after the summit. Images of the Maserati Quattroporte luxury saloons being unloaded from a plane sparked protest, with the purchase costing about £11m – a vast sum for a country struggling with a nationwide polio outbreak and funding shortages for health and education.

In a statement last November, Apec minister Justin Tkatchenko said: “Having vehicles paid for by the private sector is the smartest way to have use of the vehicles for Apec at no overall cost to the state.”

Police believe six of the nine stolen cars are still around the south-western Pacific country’s capital of Port Moresby, while three have been tracked to Mount Hagen – Papua New Guinea’s third-largest city.