Rise in trafficking of hard drugs - serious security threat for Pacific islands, says new report [1]
Thursday, February 17, 2022 - 16:53. Updated on Thursday, February 17, 2022 - 17:06.
Transnational crime — specifically drug production and trafficking — is one of the most serious security issues facing the Pacific Islands region, warns a new Lowy Institute Analysis paper, released last night.
Author, Jose Sousa-Santos, says that transnational drug crime is a protracted problem, but not one that is of the Pacific’s own making — “rather the region is a casualty of the criminal greed of organised crime and the drug appetite of Australia and New Zealand. The response by Pacific states and traditional partners must be rapid, proactive, and adaptive.”
His research paper ‘Drugs trafficking in the Pacific Islands: The impact of transnational crime’, documents the rise in trafficking of hard drugs including methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine and says that the Pacific Islands have become a production site and trafficking destination as well as thoroughfare, with indigenous and local crime gangs now working in partnership with transnational crime syndicates.
A key finding says, “The deportation policies of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States are exacerbating crime and addiction within Pacific nations. They undermine the policy objectives of development partners in the region and need urgent review.”
Tonga
There are many references to Tonga, in the research covering growth of the drugs trade in the Pacific Islands in recent years.
“This growth has been driven by the spill-over effect of trafficked drugs into local markets, spreading from largely elite and expatriate populations into the wider community, and the arrival of criminal deportees from Australia, New Zealand and the United States.”
Overall, more than 3500 Pacific nationals were deported from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States between 2004 and 2020, but Sousa-Santos says the number is likely far higher given the gaps in reporting.
The lack of support for deportees in their home countries means many vulnerable individuals turn (or return) to crime and drug smuggling.
Sousa-Santos dedicates his paper to Ned Cook, the Salvation Army drugs counsellor who was killed in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, in May 2020.
“As the only trained drug counsellor in Tonga with expertise in methamphetamine abuse and recovery, Cook was on the frontline of Tonga’s war on drugs. As he increasingly confronted the drug trade, the death threats against him multiplied. His murder reflects the scale and complexity of challenges that Tonga confronts in addressing drug crime.”
Syndicates, cartels, organised crime and gangs
Transnational crime in the Pacific represents a microcosm of a wider global trend. It is identified as one of the primary factors affecting conflict and stability, obstructing economic development and legitimate commerce, and holding people, communities and countries captive in a negative spiral of fragility and underdevelopment, the report says.
“The trafficking and trade in drugs in the Pacific is driven by five interconnected networks of actors: Chinese and Asian syndicates; Mexican and South American cartels; Australian organised crime; New Zealand organised crime; and local or hybrid indigenous drug gangs.”
“The Pacific drug trade is propelled by a complex web of external and local syndicates, regional actors and hybridised networks. It is facilitated by criminal deportation policy settings in Australia, New Zealand and the United States,” says Sousa-Santos.
Another key finding is that capacity shortfalls and a disconnect between regional law enforcement infrastructure and national law enforcement agencies undermine trust and are detrimental to intelligence sharing and interoperability in cross-border policing efforts.
“With new security sector donors such as China providing assistance, interoperability gaps have opened between Australian, New Zealand, and US law enforcement and Pacific law enforcement.”
Shadow economies and alternative power structures
Traditional leadership structures are also challenged by the growth of the drugs trade.
The drug trade in the Pacific has created shadow economies and contributed to the creation of criminal hierarchies, which undermine the balance of power between traditional authority, church, and state, says the report, referencing the observations of a Tongan health official.
“For example, a family member profiting from crime can supplant the traditional head of the family by exercising economic influence within the family and the village by buying farming equipment, gifting large amounts of money for weddings and funerals, and lending money.”
Criminal actors and groups have created sub-cultures and power structures with their own leaders and hierarchies, rules, and regulations, effectively diffusing power away from legitimate sources of authority. This is evident in the laundering of money through local businesses, the use of import and export businesses as fronts for illicit drug trafficking, and the large amounts of money offered as gifts and donations to influential members of communities to start businesses or undertake community projects.
In the Pacific, the lines can become blurred between the formal, and importantly, informal, and shadow economies.
The effect on the Pacific’s traditional societies is significant. Tongan church leaders believe the decreasing number of young men in church congregations is due to high levels of involvement in drug-related crime and increased usage of illicit drugs in the demographic, all of which leads to a sense of “shame” and “separation within communities”.
Criminal power structures, dependent on fear, money, and addiction, have contributed to the erosion of the moral authority of traditional sources of power.
The Director of the Lowy Institute's Pacific Islands Program Jonathan Pryke says the report is a welcome contribution to understanding the challenges that are being faced by under-resourced police agencies in the region.
"This paper documents the issues and provides a good understanding for ongoing discussion between governments in the region," he said.
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Link: Drug trafficking in the Pacific Islands: The impact of transnational crime | Lowy Institute [2]
- Jose Sousa-Santos is the Pacific Policy Fellow at the Australia Pacific Security College and managing director of Strategika Group. His area of expertise and research is transnational crime, security, and non-state actors in the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. In June 2021, he was appointed to the Global Initiative against Transnational Crime panel of experts. Sousa-Santos is currently undertaking doctoral studies at Massey University on the nexus between transnational crime and climate insecurity in the Pacific Islands region.
- The Lowy Institute is an independent policy think tank in Australia. Lowy Institute Analyses are short papers analysing recent international trends and events and their policy implications.