by Mickey Kavera – EM TV, Vanimo
Human trafficking of sex workers is rife across the PNG-Indonesia border.
Papua New Guinea Defence Force personnel manning the Wutung Border Post in Vanimo, Sandaun Province, report that most of these sex workers are trafficked from Indonesia’s province of Jayapura into logging camps in Vanimo.
These logging camps are becoming a haven for sex workers and human traffickers.
It is difficult to track down on these traffickers, as most of them use routes that are inaccessible.
However, PNGDF personnel on the ground say, they will be conducting a routine operation, inland of the border, to crackdown on illegal activities.
The last known joint operation code named Operation Sunset Merona in 2011 proved a success in combating these illegal activities, they say.
The soldiers are prepared but required further support to carry out these operations.