Drug cartels stockpiling in Pacific: Police chiefs warn

Pacific Police chiefs have warned that international crime syndicates are stockpiling illicit drugs across the region, turning island nations into strategic storage and transit hubs for the global drug trade.

The warning came during the inaugural Pacific Transnational Crime Summit at the Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay yesterday, where Police leaders from Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and across the Pacific pledged stronger regional action against organised crime networks.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said intelligence gathered over several years showed criminal groups were using stockpiling tactics to move illicit commodities through the Pacific.

“There has been intelligence over the years in relation to stockpiling,” Ms Barrett said.

“Organised crime networks use stockpiling as one of the methods by which they transport illicit commodities.”

New Zealand Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said the tactic was widely used by criminal networks globally and warned Pacific nations were increasingly vulnerable.

“It is entirely normal for criminal networks to stockpile and wait for an opportunity to exploit a nation or community with that product,” Mr Chambers said.

He highlighted the Interpol-led Operation Lionfish Hurricane in 2024, where 56 tonnes of cocaine was seized over four weeks across international hubs, much of it linked to the South American region.

Mr Chambers said Pacific law enforcement agencies must strengthen intelligence-sharing and partnerships with international authorities to disrupt organised criminal networks operating in the region.

Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said Pacific communities were already feeling the impact of transnational crime and called for stronger public support for law enforcement efforts.

“Our people deserve better, and we vow to do better. There have been many success stories throughout the region, and there has been a result of close co-ordination and trust built between law enforcement that still exists today,” he said.

Mr Tudravu called on the Pacific people to support this collective call for action in protecting the region.