THERE is a big gold smuggling syndicate in the country, Mineral Resource Authority (MRA) managing director Jerry Garry revealed recently.
Mr Garry, who is responsible for the oversight of mining activities in the country, said the alluvial mining sector in the country is a big sector but there is a syndicate operating in the country that continues to smuggle gold without notice.
He said during a consultative meeting on Wednesday with representatives from the Morobe Goldfields Small Scale Miners Association (MGSA) with MRA, the Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazard Management (DMPGM) and the Conservation Environment Protection Authority (CEPA).
Mr Garry said much of the gold has been smuggled by planes through Jackson International Airport and so far, six people have been arrested and many accomplices are under the spotlight.
“We are tracking them down and they will not escape,” he said.
Mining Minister Rainbo Paita had earlier confirmed the existence of the operation of the gold smuggling syndicate and the foreign nationals operating illegally in the alluvial mining sector.
He said those illegal Asians are using PNG nationals with legal mining licences and venture in to the industry as partners by financing and facilitate large-scale extraction and exportation.
According to a Post-Courier report, an estimated 200 to 300 kilograms of gold — worth tens of millions of kina— may have been smuggled out of the country since 2021, exploiting weak security protocols at the airport’s rear check-in scanners and airside loading areas.
Despite repeated warnings, those vulnerabilities remain largely unaddressed.
Investigations suggest the syndicate has operated with internal assistance from individuals within the National Airports Corporation, Air Niugini, PNG Customs, and even the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. Several staff from NAC and the national airline have been terminated. Others allegedly facilitated gold shipments, especially on flights bound for Hong Kong.
In April, authorities intercepted four Chinese nationals attempting to smuggle 29 kilograms of undeclared gold bars worth K3.3 million through Jacksons International Airport en route to Hong Kong. Customs and police confirmed the gold was not declared and destined for the international market.
According to members of the Morobe Goldfields Small Scale Miners Association., many people of Asian origin have brought big machines to mine alluvial gold in the Morobe Province, mostly in the Bulolo and Wau-Waria and that is a big challenge for the local miners, although it’s a local business activity reserved for the locals.
It was highlighted that the local license holders are inviting the Chinese to bring in big machines to operate the alluvial mines.
Local MP Mr Marsh Narewec who organised the gathering to allow the Association to present their position on how they felt the new Mining Bill should capture the alluvial mine sector said the made alluvial mining operation in his district is a major concern as much of the infrastructure like the road network are destroyed by those illegal foreign miners in the alluvial sector.