Papua New Guinea police bust human trafficking ring, rescue 39 Indonesians

• Papua New Guinea police rescued 39 Indonesian human trafficking victims and arrested four Chinese nationals involved in a people-smuggling ring in Port Moresby.
• Victims were lured by fake job offers on social media and held against their will in a three-bedroom property.
• Authorities expect more arrests and are collaborating internationally to dismantle the transnational trafficking network between Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

PORT MORESBY – Police in Papua New Guinea said they had rescued 39 human trafficking victims and arrested four Chinese nationals in what they called a “deeply disturbing” case.

The victims – all Indonesian nationals – were approached on social media with false offers of employment and then held against their will as part of a “complex people-smuggling enterprise”, Police Commissioner David Manning said Sept 22.

They were being kept in a three-bedroom property in downtown Port Moresby, according to police.

“There will be no leniency for those who traffic and exploit people,” Manning said. “It is deeply disturbing that such alleged crimes could occur in our country.”

The alleged people-smuggling ring was busted after an intelligence operation run by the Police Transnational Crime Directorate.

Manning said he expected more arrests and that the network operated both in Papua New Guinea and abroad.

“Those detained may be connected to a wider transnational human trafficking syndicate operating between South-east Asia and the Pacific,” said Deputy Commissioner Donald Tamasombi, who led the operation to bust the human trafficking ring.

He said PNG police would work closely with international partners “to identify and dismantle any offshore components of this criminal network”.

Manning said police were working with the Indonesian Embassy in Papua New Guinea to ensure the dignity and safety of those rescued. AFP