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Press Release
Customs clamp down on illegal business activities in Lae

PNG Customs Services' continued efforts in cracking down on rogue importers and illegal business activities in the country has this time resulted in the search of three suspected foreign owned businesses based in Lae, Morobe Province recently.

Caretaker Commissioner John Pomoso said the special operation, conducted with the assistance from the Police revealed gross undervaluation of goods, false declaration, illegal sale of medicines, piracy and possession of pornographic materials, among other things. Mr. Pomoso said items of interest to the investigations were also confiscated. Confiscated items included importation documents, CDs and DVDs, several of which were pornographic in nature, laptops, medicines, flash drives, memory cards and motorcycles, to name a few. The confiscated medicines were referred to the Health Department.

Two foreigners were also found to have overstayed their visas. They will consequently be interviewed, arrested and charged under Immigration laws. The businesses are all Asian owned.

"I highly commend my officers who although understaffed, continue to work hard to produce excellent results", the Caretaker Commissioner stated. "My officers also continue to show discipline, professionalism and respect for the Customs Code of Ethics & Conduct because two officers were offered but refused bribes during the operation. The owner of one of the suspected businesses was arrested and charged for that offence. His bail was set at K5,000."

"Tougher laws must be put in place to immediately deport foreign business owners who show no respect for our laws and deliberately engage in illegal business activities", Mr. Pomoso added. "Following their deportation, all of their assets should be forfeited to the State. We cannot just stand by and watch as PNG's laws get breached over and over again by individuals who know they will get off lightly, we have to act, and we have to act now. Customs is here to protect the interests of the people of Papua New Guinea and legitimate businesses."

Importation documents confiscated showed that some of the businesses had been producing and presenting to Customs duplicate invoices with lower values to avoid paying the correct duties. Also, records showed that the confiscated motorcycles had initially been imported as toys, and flash drives and memory cards were used to store PNG music, which Customs believe were used to download and sell to customers.

"Customs takes these breaches very seriously and we are intent on pursuing these cases until the offenders are prosecuted because their illegal activities are causing PNG to miss out on thousands of kina in potential revenue", Mr. Pomoso further stated. "And there are many more businesses in the country that are not operating honestly. Anyone with information on such businesses must contact Customs immediately."

MR. JOHN POMOSO
Caretaker Commissioner

23 January 2012