Drugs Smugglers And Gun Runners Cross Papua Border Almost Freely

Jayapura,Papua, April 18 (Antara) - 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. Deputy chief of the Papua regional police Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw acknowledged the condition that the border area is potential to be used as a gateway by smugglers . Police could not cover all areas along the long border to maintain security and prevent illicit trade over the vast areas, Paulus said. He said criminal cases like illegal border crossing are almost normal everyday that criminals such as drug traffickers and gun runners could easily escape by mingling with the local people. Based on police record , there was one such criminal case each in 2011 and 2012 and six cases so far in 2013 in the border areas, he added. He said the ratio of police officers to the population is "quite rational" with one officer for every 189 people , but the problem is to cover the vast area with inadequate facility and infrastructure.