Team tackling fake goods

A TASK force team will be setup to address the issue of fake, illegal and unauthorised imported goods, especially shelved goods in shops, following a directive from Agriculture and Livestock Minister John Simon.
The task force will consist of officers from the PNG Customs and provincial health authorities.
Simon said his department had reason to believe that many items entering Papua New Guinea were not appropriately authorised, fake or had been brought in illegally
He warned that this opened to the door diseases and other health and environmental risks.
“Items which do not go through proper checks are possible carriers of imported diseases,” he said.
Simon said the department was unsure how the recent African swine fever (affecting pigs in Southern Highlands), heartworm (affecting dogs in East Sepik) and Fallarmy worm (affecting corn in Western) had appeared in parts of the country but he was sure one of the possible routes was through importers not following proper procedures when bringing in goods.
Following a similar operation carried out last month in Wewak and Maprik in East Sepik, fake goods, especially canned fish and meat products, were found in shops in the two districts.
Simon said the team would ensure that these illegal items were removed.