Magistrate raises concern on drug trafficking
A MAGISTRATE in East New Britain has raised concerns over a developing trend in firearms being exchanged for drugs to foreign fishing vessels.
Rabaul district court magistrate, George Kerker highlighted this after recently convicting a man from Malaguna village to 14 months at Kerevat jail for being in possession of dangerous drugs.
The man was arrested by police following a tip off that he was planning to sell a substantial amount of marijuana to foreign fishing vessels in the Rabaul port.
It is a norm to see villagers from Malaguna exchange fruits and flex cards to workers on foreign fishing vessels in exchange for fish. The villagers in turn sell the fish to earn their income.
The man told the court that he wanted to pay for his children’s school fee which was why he wanted to trade drugs for fish.
Magistrate Kerker told him that there were other honest and legal means to earn money.
“This is the first time I have dealt with such case and it caught me by surprise. I believe there is a new trend developing with firearms now being involved and smuggled into the province,” he said.
Mr Kerker has spoken with Rabaul police to look into this issue and to step up sea patrols to monitor such illegal activity.
Mr Kerker, formerly a police officer was also engaged as a fisheries observer on a foreign fishing vessel.
He observed that small helicopters were engaged by fishing vessels to search for fish and claimed pilots are never searched when they arrive at various ports.
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