Christina
Persico, RNZ Pacific Bulletin
Editor
Pacific police chiefs have discussed the
region’s drug trafficking problems on a panel at the World
Police Summit in Dubai.
The summit, from 13-15 May,
included expert panel discussions, workshops, and a
technology exhibition.
Fiji Police Commissioner
Rusiate Tudravu, Royal Solomon Islands Police Force
Commissioner Mostyn Mangau, and New Zealand Police Assistant
Commissioner Bruce O’Brien participated in a fireside chat
with the theme: ‘The future of the fight: what needs to be
done to combat drug trafficking in the Pacific?’
The
Pacific Island Chiefs of Police (PICP) said the panellists
acknowledged that the region’s exposure to drug trafficking
is increasing, and discussed how current and future
strategies such as the Pacific Transnational Crime Network,
and the Pacific Policing Initiative are being leveraged to
reduce the Pacific’s vulnerabilities.
Speaking to
Emirates News Agency, PICP Secretariat executive
director Julian Bianco said new drug smuggling patterns
represent a direct challenge to security agencies.
He
affirmed that stronger regional cooperation and intelligence
sharing are vital, particularly with increased maritime drug
transit towards Australia and New Zealand.
In a
pre-Budget announcement on Saturday, New Zealand’s Customs
Minister Casey Costello said the country
[https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/560558/government-puts-35m-towards-keeping-drugs-out-of-the-country
was increasingly being targeted by organised crime
groups.
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“Transnational and serious organised crime
threats are growing worldwide. These groups are increasingly
targeting the Pacific and New Zealand, which has some of the
world’s highest prices for illicit drugs like
methamphetamine and cocaine.”
According to the World
Police Summit background information, 80 percent of global
cocaine seizures are linked to maritime
trafficking.
Drug trafficking is not a new problem in
the Pacific.
A 2024
UNODC report said the transnational organized crime
threat environment in the Pacific is evolving faster than in
any previous point in history.
“Transnational
organized crime groups are targeting the region as an
increasingly important transit route for the trafficking of
methamphetamine and cocaine to and from neighbouring
regions,” it said.
“The increase in traffic has also
led to a spillover in domestic markets in the Pacific, and
authorities in some countries have observed a rise in the
availability and use of drugs, particularly
methamphetamine.
“Local agencies have observed that
non-medical drug use is causing serious harm to some users,
with increases in domestic violence risks, sexual violence,
child neglect, mental and physical health issues, and poor
educational and employment outcomes in some Pacific
countries.”
Fiji’s Narcotics Bureau warned last month
the country’s battle against drugs could get harder if
fentanyl becomes widespread.
FBC reported
Jemesa Lave from the Bureau saying this drug is more
dangerous than methamphetamine and cocaine.
Earlier
this month, New Zealand’s top cop has reassured the leaders
of Fiji and Samoa that he
has their back, as a regionwide drug crisis rolls
on.
In January, Samoan authorities intercepted 10
kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (worth almost NZ$2.5
million in street value), which has been described by the
Samoa Observer as “the largest known drug smuggling
operation” on the
island.
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