Suva, FIJI — The illicit drugs trade in the Pacific Islands continues to evolve despite COVID-19 border closures. The seizure of more than 500 kilograms of cocaine in Papua New Guinea in 2020 demonstrated that the pandemic had not diminished the trafficking of drugs through the region.

The cocaine was destined for Australia, and with a street value estimated at AUD$81 million (US$58.3 million), the seizure emphasized the importance of partnerships between regional law enforcement.

 In the same year, a cocaine “ghost ship” containing 649 kilograms of the drug, with a street value of more than AUD$112 million (US$80.6 million), foundered on an atoll in the Marshall Islands. In 2021, fourteen (14) kilograms of cocaine washed up on Tongan beaches, its collective street value estimated at AUD$3.1 million (US$22.5 million).

The pandemic has not weakened demand for, or trade in, illicit drugs. This is evident in the growth of local markets and the emergence of a culture of drug abuse among the Pacific’s youth.

Statistics recently released by Samoa’s Ministry of Police and Prisons show a spike in drug-related arrests and that, disturbingly, 96 percent of those arrested were first-time offenders. This reflects a trend that is in part exacerbated by the socio-economic fallout of the pandemic.

The region’s vast and porous maritime borders, weak jurisdictions and limited enforcement capabilities are key structural challenges and enablers to transnational crime in the region.

Consequently, the Pacific Islands have become a production site and trafficking destination as well as trafficking thoroughfare, and indigenous/ local crime syndicates now work in partnership with transnational crime syndicates.

Furthermore, the criminal deportee policies of Australia, the United States and New Zealand are contributing to the problem, as is the COVID-19 pandemic, by exacerbating the vulnerabilities on which transnational organizations and local crime actors capitalize.

In response to this threat, partners, particularly Australia and New Zealand, have stepped up initiatives to counter transnational crime over the past three years. Working closely with Pacific governments and societies, the international collaboration has led to a number of significant drug hauls in the region and a growing awareness of the complexities associated with countering transnational crime in the Pacific.

The Pacific and its partners have responded by strengthening regional policing architecture and governance through enhanced law enforcement mechanisms, but challenges remain as the illicit drug trade adapts and takes root in the region.

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