Homemade guns confiscated by or surrendered to police in Alotau. Photo: Facebook.com/Priscilla Waikaidi
A key problem for Papua New Guinea police in getting on top of illegal gun imports is finding the evidence linking to the sponsors of the trade.
Last week, police revealed that politicians and members of the disciplinary forces are involved in the trade, but no further details have been made public.
The Post Courier reported last week that 18 men have been arrested in the last nine weeks over their alleged involvement in the trade resulting in four convictions so far.
"Police have identified two members of parliament and one former governor who are allegedly involved in the proliferation of firearms and ammunition in the Highlands," the newspaper reported.
Politicians involved in PNG illegal gun trade
RNZ Pacific's PNG correspondent Scott Waide said illegal guns were commonplace right around the country.
"Generally, it's an open secret that there are arms being supplied to tribal groups in the highlands in particular, but in other parts of the country as well," Waide said.
"So, if you are on the ground, and if you talk to people who are in possession of those weapons, they will basically tell you where the the weapons are coming from.
"[It's] not something that is hidden when you go into the villages and ask them 'where did you get this weapon? who's the sponsor of this weapons?
"The difficulty is the actual reporting of it and finding the evidence linking the weapons to the sponsors of those weapons and the people who actually bring in those weapons and pay for them."
Waide said it was challenging to find official sources of information to "pin down" politicians allegedly involved in the illegal gun trade.
"But people within law enforcement have some idea or at least know where the weapons are coming from, and a lot of it is coming from down south across from the Indonesian border and some stolen from government armories.
"There have been instances where police weapons, defence force weapons have been recovered over the years, and some of those weapons have been used against service members working in hotspots in the islands," he said.
Waide said he has covered stories where weapons have been brought in batches.
"The ones I saw were in batches of six, some batches of four and good quality weapons.
"These are not rusted weapons that you see on Facebook, that people are holding all these weapons that have been bought with the intention of selling to those who have the money to pay for it.
He said it is a "frightening situation" ordinary people living in villages in the highlands, particularly for women and children "who have no means of protecting themselves against people who are armed and dangerous".
"That has been one of the primary concerns that was expressed after the kidnapping of the anthropologist in the the women that were later rescued, that the weapons that were used in those crimes had political sponsors and they made no bones about it.
"It's a situation like that that puts women and children especially in danger. And it becomes more pronounced during election periods where the guns are used to intimidate a lot of the focus is on the islands. But it's not just in the highlands, there are pockets of areas around the country where illegal weapons also used in that manner.
Solutions available
He said a 2005 guns committee report that was presented by former PNG military commander Major-General Jerry Singirok already had the solutions to the guns problem.
The report included 244 recommendations for governments to follow to end the years of gun violence.
"Many of the recommendations that [Major-General Singirok] put forward haven't been implemented - some of it has, some of it hasn't.
"The government recently introduced amendments to the laws and gives life sentences to people who are in possession of illegal weapons which is a positive step, but people who carry the guns openly in places around PNG still carry them openly sometimes in the presence of police.
"They use them in tribal fights and police see them and you know, saying these things sounds easy, but actually going into those villages finding the people who possess the weapons and actually arresting them with support from the community is difficult
Homemade guns confiscated by or surrendered to police in Alotau. Photo: Facebook.com/Priscilla Waikaidi
Homemade guns destroyed
Meanwhile, Last Wednesday, police in Alotau from Milne Bay Province destroyed "over one hundred homemade guns".
According to the National Broadcasting Coorporation, the guns and over 3,000 ammunitions were either confiscated and or surrendered over the last four years and had served their purpose in court.
"The guns, some 144 of them were cleaned, lined up for records then dismantled to be destroyed," broadcaster reported.
Chief Inspector Benjamin Kua said it was to show the public what happens to guns after they have served their purpose as exhibits in court.
"Now, they've no use to our station so under my instruction, the team is dismantling the guns. The wooden parts will be burnt while the steel metal parts to be dumped at sea. It's to prevent the material finding their way back to reproduction as we continue to rid our streets of these types of weapons used unlawfully," Kua said.
He said contrary to rumors going around, police wanted to "clear the air that their exhibit room was nearing full and this decision to clear out the homemade guns was a need".