BY MELVILLE TITIULU
The Honiara Central Magistrate’s court has set August 31 to September 11 of this year for the trial of three people accused of theft of around $2 million worth of beche-de-mer and cash.
Frank Firimolea of Ngaliwao village, Malaita Province, was charged alongside Mrs Donsia Deresi and Rickson Suiti Abana. Mrs Deresi and Mr Abana are mother and son.
All three accused were charged with housebreaking and committing a felony contrary to section 300 (a) of the penal code as read with section 21 (a) of the penal code.
The trio previously pleaded ‘not guilty’ when arraigned before Principal Magistrate Felix Hollison, on May 28 of this year.
Prosecution alleged that Mr Firimolea, together with Deresi and Abana, at Honiara, Guadalcanal Province, on August 29, 2025, broke into a warehouse storage and container storage at Kukum, a property belonging to one Mr Zhong Ruwei of Chinese nationality.
It was alleged that items valued at $2 million were stolen, which included 22 bags of beche-de-mer and $100,000 in cash.
It further alleged that the trio, with the help of others, gained entry into the storage facility. They used three vehicles to transport the stolen items from the warehouse at Kukum to Tenaru, East Honiara, with a view to conceal and retrieve later.
Police managed to arrest Deresi on September 29, 2025, with some of the stolen items also recovered. Her son, Abana, was arrested on December 22, 2025, after evading police arrest for months following the warehouse incident.
Prosecution informed the court yesterday that it will be relying on 10 prosecution witnesses for trial.
In the meantime, bail for Mrs Deresi and remand for Mr Firimolea and Mr Abana have been extended.
Steward Beto represented the Crown, while Mr Jason Anisi, and Mr Harry Luahiti from the Public Solicitors’ Office, represented the three defendants.
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