Customs Wasman Hotline

Help us secure PNG's Border to protect you
 17 July, 2023

Papua New Guinea is you! So help us secure our international border and protect you, was the message from the Chief Commissioner David Towe to the general public when he officiated the reactivation of the Customs Wasman Toll Free Number 7091 9000.

The general public can now call or text PNG Customs on this hotline number to report suspicious activities relating to smuggling and other illegal border activities following the reactivation of the Customs hotline number.

He said the hotline number is now able to receive SMS texts and Whatsapp messages and photos 24- hours a day and voice calls between 7.45am and 16.30pm on weekdays.

He said this service will be strictly used to respond to reports of suspected illegal border and trade activities and will not be used for general Customs enquiries.

"I am urging Papua New Guineans not to abuse this service so that we get the best out of it," he stated. "Use it only for its intended purpose."

He said the hotline number is part of the Customs Wasman initiative that aims to encourage people to assist PNG Customs protect the country's international borders from illegal and harmful activities.

"You can call the Wasman hotline number 7091 9000 or you can easily complete and submit a form that is available on our website," the Chief Commissioner added. "There is also an email address wasman@customs.gov.pg that you can use to contact Customs to submit a report."

"If you see, hear or know of any person, aircraft, vessel, containers or goods coming into or leaving Papua New Guinea without Customs knowledge, notify us as soon as possible using those means," he explained. "Your identity will be protected at all times when you provide information to Customs.

PNG Customs currently has close to 600 officers scattered over 20 locations around the country and they are responsible for 5,152km of coastline and 820km of land border.

PNG Customs has been mandated to watch over a huge land and sea area spanning from the PNG Indonesian border in the east, PNG-Solomon Islands border in the west, PNG-Australian border in the south and the huge sea area in the north from Manus province up to the Federated States of Micronesia.

The Chief Commissioner explained that it's a huge area and PNG Customs cannot do it alone but with the support of the citizens through this reporting platform.

"That is why we initiated the Customs Wasman Program some years back to encourage the general public all over PNG to be the 'eyes and ears' of Customs," he added.

He said in recent times a lot of drug trafficking, illegal fishing, and illegal transfer of taxable goods have been taking place on land and out at sea because we are not always able to continually monitor these areas.

He added that if the borders are not secured, harmful products will continue to enter the country and destroy local communities and counterfeit products will enter the markets.

Therefore in the interest of community safety and the future of our children, it is in every person's interest to report these illegal activities and the people involved.


Authorized by
David Towe
Chief Commissioner of Customs
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