Last year I detected stocks of undeclared or couterfeit cigarettes and edible goods in cartoons under a vessel in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. The stocks were hidden under a logging vessel without any legal customs documents (Bill of Lading) which have arrived from Malaysia.
I raised these issue with the RPNGC and Customs hierachy but I was bluntly told that the 2 departments had no money to deploy investigators into the remote area to investigate.
Consequently,the owner of the vessel arranged a local customs officer who flew in and ascertained and confirmed that several goods on the vessels were undeclared goods and conclude that "no thorough check was done at the Umuda port".
This is a serious issue - Tax Evasion and Counterfeit Product Smuggling into PNG.
PNG and other Pacific countries will continue to loose millions in taxes as long as the corrupt officers exist in the law enforcement and regulatory organisation.
G Batz
Ex PNG Cop
Queanbeyan,NSW
Check the Logging Ships
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