PNG Customs wants higher penalty legislated

Updated March 2, 2010 17:28:07

Papua New Guinea's Customs Services Commissioner, Gary Zuffa says the penalty for illegal entry into the country should be around 20 thousand US dollars. He says this would be a more fitting deterrent to illegal aliens going into PNG and engaging in illegal activities. Mr Zuffa made the comment after two Japanese men were fined one thousand US dollars each for illegal entry into PNG on a fishing vessel recently. He says the two did not have valid passport and work documents. Mr Zuffa says they were working for a Japanese fishing company contracted by one of PNG's fish canneries in the Morobe province.

Presenter: Firmin Nanol
Speaker: PNG's Customs Services Commissioner, Gary Zuffa.

ZUFFA: The border response unit in Lae did a search of the fishing vessel, did a face check of the crew with the passports and documents available and realised that two of the crew did not have passports or any travel documents and were therefore illegally in the country and they detained them. They interviewed them and they arrested and charged them under the Migration Act, and they had them locked up at the police cells. They appeared before court the next day where they plead guilty and they were fined two-thousand-500 kina after they were convicted, and then they've been detained on the vessel ever since until they leave, which will be in the next month or so.

NANOL: What happens to the fishing boat?

ZUFFA: The fishing boat is going to be detained, we're exploring the law as to whether or not that boat should be seized or detained or whether the owners or the contractors are fined. Those investigations are currently underway at the moment.

NANOL: This is one of the many illegal fishing cases in Papua New Guinea that Customs officials were able to detect. There are others that have gone unnoticed. Our Majesty's customs in the country losing would you know?

ZUFFA: Well for fishing there are no revenue implications because licenses are what generates revenues and that is official this matter. So there's really no implication for customs. Our concern is on the movement of illegals and contraband that is being transported by fishing crew and onboard those vessels into the country, and the smuggling of flora and fauna and other high value items out of Papua New Guinea, not specially the two but ?? were found within the vicinity of the vessel, including undeclared tobacco and undeclared alcohol. So investigations are also continuing into that and it is most likely that they will be charged under the Customs Act for having in possession of those prohibited imports.

NANOL: Do you think that two-thousand-and-500 kina fine for illegal fishing is it enough to deter further illegal fishing?

ZUFFA: This is not illegal fishing that they're being charged with, they were charged for being unlawfully in the country. So under the Migration Act the maximum penalty is five-thousand kina, which is still not enough. They were given a lenient penalty of two-thousand-500, which is the minimum amount applicable. I don't think it's enough, I don't think the five-thousand kina is even enough, I think it should be more in the vicinity of 50-thousand or so with penalties being paid by the companies and persons who are harbouring them, and they too should be charged, which is something we're also exploring at the moment anyway.

NANOL: They were employed working as contractors to one of the major established businesses in the industry in Papua New Guinea. How could Customs and government officials deal with such an issue?

ZUFFA: Well this is the normal monitoring and enforcement activity that government officials are supposed to be undertaking and Customs was doing that. And when we identified such people we deal with them immediately and then the next process is to look at the company and the contractors and attend to them and find them, prosecute them, etc., etc.

NANOL: Have you notified the company who contracted them to do the fishing?

ZUFFA: We are going to get in touch with them in due time and officers are currently investigating the matter. I cannot say for that particular company, but I would not be surprised, we have information that there's quite a number of foreigners entering the country on fishing vessels and logging vessels illegally coming into the country, and getting into the community and carrying on illegal activities. And we are making an effort to identify these person and locate them, and attend to them immediately.