by Quinton Alomp – EM TV, Port Moresby
Concerns have been raised for specialised police dogs to be stationed at the PNG-Indonesian border in West Sepik province, where active trading is taking place.
In fear of possible smuggling of firearms and explosives, the country’s only firearms and explosive detection dog specialist, Sergeant Dominic Nassam said the border is vulnerable for illegal trading and security personnel can’t control it alone.
Sergeant Nassam said as PNG stands ready for the Pacific Games in July and the APEC Summit in 2018, protecting the only land border from possible threats is the most important agenda the PNG government needs to address.
The police trained dogs are capable of tracking down firearms, explosives and dangerous drugs.
However, PNG currently has only one Labrador bred dog specialised in firearms and explosive sniffing. Its partner used to perform the same duty but passed away in December last year.
The challenge is now mounting on the police department and the government to import fully-vaccinated German Shepherd and Labrador breeds. The cost is over K15,000 for pups of those breeds in Australia.
The NCD Dog Unit Commander, Leuth Nidung said currently they have only three Labrador dogs specialised in drug detection. The dogs can detect harmful drugs, especially marijuana.
At present Defence personnel monitoring the border post at West Sepik are not using trained dogs for assistance. Commander Nidung said with dogs, the work will be fast.
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