Drug Smugglers Cross Papua Border Freely

Jayapura (Antara Bali) - The border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea in Papua is easily used for illicit trade including gun and drug smuggling, a customs official said.

"The Customs and Excise office has arrested smugglers of methamphetamine, marijuana , dry cannabis  and fire arm bullets,"  Muhammad Sigit, a customs and excise director of the finance ministry, said here on Wednesday.

Sigit told a meeting between a delegation of the People's Consultative Assembly  and border community, also attended by regional administration and military leaders, the border area in  Skouw is still easily used by smugglers  as people from both sides of the border could cross the border via many tiny pathways.

There are many people crossing the border everyday from both sides as they belong to the same tribe, he said.

Since 2011, a number of people have been arrested in 17 cases of attempts to smuggle marijuana , methamphetamine,  and fire arm bullets into the Indonesian side of the border, he said.

"The cases have been reported to local police," he added. (*/DWA)