Indonesia to Deploy 450 Military Personnel to PNG Border

Jakarta, MINA — Indonesia is deploying 450 military personnel to Papua in a bid to crackdown on drug smuggling on the Papua New Guinea border.

Antara news agency reported the forces would travel to Merauke province on Sunday, before deploying across 16 border posts.

The beef-up is the latest move from Indonesia to improve policing on the more than 800-kilometre porous border it shares with Papua New Guinea.

On Tuesday, two Papua New Guinean suspects carrying two kilograms of marijuana were arrested by Indonesian border security in Papua.

The smugglers said they were planning to sell the drug in Jayapura. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)