American couple deported

AN American couple were deported yesterday after they were arrested by police and immigration for entering Papua New Guinea (PNG) illegally for alluvial mining in Bougainville, Immigration and Border Security Minister Bryan Kramer says.
“Bradley and Christine Noffsinger were arrested in Central Bougainville and deported to Los Angeles in California,” he added.
Kramer said in a media statement that the couple entered PNG through an unauthorised port of entry without legal entry permits.
“The couple entered South Bougainville through Solomon Islands on board a small boat loaded with alluvial mining equipment,” he added.
Immigration movement records showed the couple had lawfully visited PNG at least three times in the last 10 years.
“Their first visit was in 2012, second in 2013 where they spent at least two years engaging with local people doing alluvial mining in Morobe’s Wau. “In 2015, the couple made their third visit and stayed for eight days in Bougainville, where they made connections with ‘people of interest’, to take part in alluvial mining on the east coast of Central Bougainville,” he added.
Kramer said that following the Bougainville connections, the couple tried to smuggle alluvial mining equipment into Bougainville in 2016, which was confiscated by Solomon Islands authorities at the maritime border.
“That same year, the couple made another trip to PNG but were denied entry at Jackson International Airport after an alert was placed on their movement,” he said.
With no access into PNG, the couple decided to cross the border illegally in 2020.
They loaded their small boat with undocumented alluvial mining equipment and sailed into South Bougainville through the Tonolei harbour, where they were caught and charged with unlawful entry.