6 Jul 2012

Alleged cult members arrested over seven deaths in PNG's Madang province

9:06 am on 6 July 2012

Twenty nine people have been arrested in connection with the deaths of four men and three women in Papua New Guinea.

The 29, members of an alleged cult, including a 13-year-old boy and a teacher in his 50s, were arrested during a dawn raid at Biam village, in Madang province.

Two men, one believed to be the group's leader and known only as "Joe", are still on the run.

Police say they were armed with home-made guns fashioned from rubber and believed they had supernatural powers to identify sorcerers.

Senior Constable Daniel Kapen, says the group alleges that there were some deaths related to sorcery in the area.