Two Bougainville policemen have been arrested for crossing the border into Solomon Islands at the weekend, in contravention of Covid-19 restrictions.
The two officers from Buin, in the south of Papua New Guinea's autonomous Bougainville Island, travelled to the Shortland Islands.
This comes amid a border shutdown and a request from the Controller of the State of Emergency, Francis Tokura, for both the Bougainville and PNG governments to provide more boats to patrol the region's vast coastline.
Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
The officers are on bail, pending a magistrate's hearing.
New Dawn FM reported Mr Tokura saying the police should maintain the trust the people have in them by doing their duties honestly and complying with the SoE orders.
He issued a new directive that any breaches by police would mean hefty bail conditions and suspension.