Customs on high alert for smugglers

PAPUA New Guinea Customs Service is on high alert and focused on reviewing the movement of travellers after detaining and penalising a Chinese woman who tried to smuggle money out of the country.
Customs which serves as the first-line of defence for the country was cautious and determined to crack down on transnational criminal activities after uncovering what appears to be an organised money smuggling ring, it said in a statement yesterday.
Lin Zheng, a female Chinese from Fujian province, was later charged and fined K2,000 for not declaring the large sum of money she was trying to take out of the country.
The seized money was forfeited to PNG customs service.
The law states that a person must not have in their possession currency exceeding K10,000 and that should have a written authority from the Bank of Papua New Guinea to carry such amount of cash and  should have the money concealed to body instead of carrying it in purses or envelopes or face police prosecution.
Currently, customs is investigating the leads hoping to find the big players in money smuggling.
Zheng was found to have strapped stack of hard cash Australian dollars on her legs destined for Hong Kong through Singapore.
Customs is also liaising with relevant government agencies, especially the police transitional crime unit and sister agencies around the Asia-Pacific region to crack down on transnational crimes.
Customs believe it is not the first time such criminal activity happened and from the way things were looking it seemed the incident would not be the last.
The organisations have in recent times have demonstrated its effort to protecting and securing our bodies for a safer community.