Lae Port makes sure consignments checked before shipment

EVERY consignment coming in or going out of Lae Port has to be declared, identified and certified before shipment, says Port facility security officer in-charge Felix Malonga.
He said Lae Port was an international ships and port security (ISPS) facility and it operated under its code to make sure consignments were shipped after going through all security processes.
“Under ISPS, consignments of illegal items such as dangerous drugs, firearms and other items that are deemed illegal will not be shipped and those caught will be dealt with under ISPS regulations as well,” he said.
Malonga made the remarks after security officers with Kuima Security Services Ltd confiscated 2.7kg of marijuana with a street value of K3,000, packed and consigned for shipment to Buka in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville yesterday.
One suspect has been arrested and charged with being in possession of dangerous drugs and is now in police custody awaiting court appearance.
The suspect was caught after making freight payments for the cargo to be shipped on MV Chebu.
Officer in-charge of the Lae drug squad Senior Sgt Bonny Munaup told The National that this was not the first time police intercepted drugs mainly to be shipped to the New Guinea Islands region.
“We have since January made arrests of suspects and confiscated huge amounts of marijuana packed and ready for shipment at the Lae Port,” he said.
He said in most cases, huge quantities of marijuana had been detected while some went through undetected.
“The illegal drugs comes mainly from the Highlands region for shipping out,” he said.
Munaup has urged the public to report suspicious people to police using the police toll free number 70903300.