Two Australian men have been charged with allegedly trafficking firearms to the National Liberation Army of West Papua (TPNPB), a violent paramilitary group based in Indonesia.
The two-year investigation, which led to the arrests, was launched after members of the group kidnapped New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens in February 2023 on a remote airstrip in the Indonesian province of West Papua.
Mehrtens had flown a small commercial plane, owned by Susi Air, into a remote and militarised region of the Papuan highlands. The aircraft was carrying five passengers, including an infant, from Mozes Kilangin Airport in Mimika in Central Papua province to Paro Airport in Nduga, which has been an epicentre of the growing Papuan insurgency for independence from the Indonesian state….
2 Australians Charged With Firearms Trafficking Linked to Kidnapping of New Zealand Pilot
