Smuggled drug baffles top cop

POLICE in Papua New Guinea are puzzled over how 289kg of cocaine allegedly crossed its borders into Australia.
An Australian man was charged last Tuesday over his alleged involvement in a criminal syndicate that imported the cocaine into Queensland from PNG and reportedly impersonated a legitimate company to try to avoid detection.
Investigators from Taskforce Venator, which comprised the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Queensland Police Service, arrested and charged the man, 20, on April 12 as part of an investigation with the Australian Border Force.
Deputy police commissioner, special operations, Donald Yamasombi said he could not shed light on how the cocaine bypassed PNG security, and “if it ever did originate from PNG and the packaging did have a genuine PNG address”.
“I am after that information because our partners from the AFP have not shared any information on that with us except to say that the packaging says ‘PNG’,” Yamasombi said. “We are yet to find out if the packaging has a genuine PNG address, or it might be that people who smuggled the package decided to name it as being from PNG.”
Yamasombi’s concern came in the wake of last week’s signing of renewed understanding for cross-border cooperation and information sharing between PNG and Australian police commissioners David Manning and Reece Kershaw. The MoU was on police cooperation, liaison and the exchange of information.
Manning had said after the signing that the renewed partnership “would enhance capabilities to stop major cross-border crimes such as trafficking … cocaine and methamphetamines. It has to be stopped and this is in our shared interest”.
Yamasombi said he couldn’t confirm if there are methamphetamine (meth) laboratories in PNG.
“We’ve only been dealing with people who are in possession of meth and those who are consuming the substance,” he said.