Cross-border crimes complex, daring

By JUNIOR UKAHA
CROSS-border crimes and criminals have become sophisticated and daring, the country’s police chief says.
Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga told a technical conference on monitoring and surveillance last Saturday in Port Moresby that criminals engaged in these crimes were often targeting smaller Pacific Island states because of their inability to defend their borders.
“Crimes such as human smuggling, terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering, perpetrated by well-organised crime syndicates, had and will continue to target our borders if we fail to put in place counter-active measures to combat these crimes,” he said.
Kulunga told participants from the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) countries that if the regional borders could not be protected, criminals would exploit countries in the region.
He said things were changing as a result of globalisation and countries in the region must adapt or face problems.
He told the conference that although small island countries faced issues of money, manpower and expertise, a combined effort and sharing of resources and ideas would help in the fight against transnational crimes.
Representatives from PNG, Fiji, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia attended the conference.
The two-week conference ends next Monday.
Security, monitoring, surveillance, immigration and humanitarian and emergency response were among the topics highlighted on the conference agenda.