By Mary Lyn Fonua

To fight a growing problem of organised crime in the region, a Pacific Anti-Corruption Strategy is urgently needed, says a new report, that suggests New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific countries work together.

“As the challenges in the Pacific become more urgent, we need to consider what more can be done to counter the threats now,” recommends the report titled ‘Corruption in New Zealand and the Pacific [2].’

Tonga and other Pacific countries get multiple mentions in the report released this week by a New Zealand Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime [3].

The advisory group, formed in February this year by the NZ Minister of Customs and Associate Minister of Police, Hon. Casey Costello, makes recommendations for fighting the growing problem in New Zealand. The nation has dropped on the Corruption Perceptions Index 2024 [4].

“Corruption is a strategic asset for organised crime,” they say, noting that corruption—particularly as it relates to organised crime—is expanding in scope and sophistication. This includes insider threats to New Zealand’s borders.

“The consequences are profound: compromised police officers, immigration officials, and private sector employees in our ports and airports have facilitated drug smuggling, leaked sensitive information, and undermined the integrity of our border systems.”

They cite an example of a corrupt New Zealand Police officer, Vili Mahe Taukolo [5], who was paid around $70,000 by an organised crime group to share sensitive information from the police database, and jailed in 2019.

Another example: in May 2020, New Zealand Customs foiled an attempt to smuggle a suitcase containing 19.4 kg of methamphetamine through Auckland Airport. A baggage handler, Sese Vimahi [6], had recruited workmates to divert the suitcase before it reached customs screening. Although fired by Air New Zealand, and while on bail, Vimahi used his connections in the airport to recruit a new team of baggage handlers, which successfully imported two shipments of methamphetamine.

Pacific islands

Organised crime is also on the rise in the Pacific islands nations, accelerated by deportees from Australia, the United States and New Zealand. These have directly led to the formation of chapters of Australasian gangs, it says.

While the report says there are many types of organised crime being committed in the Pacific the most obvious concern is around illicit drugs, with the bulk of such shipments destined for New Zealand and Australia

Drug cartels from the Americas, organised crime groups from New Zealand and Australia, as well as Asian criminal networks are all increasing their involvement in the Pacific [7].

Fiji, has emerged as a key transit point for major drug shipments. The report cites cases of record-breaking seizure of illicit drugs in Fiji, when in late January 2024, Fijian authorities seized almost five tonnes of methamphetamine in raids on two houses in Nadi, close to Fiji’s main international airport.

“This is approximately 3.5 times the total amount of methamphetamine consumed in New Zealand over 2024.”

3.9 tonnes of cocaine floating in the Pacific

In February 2023, a joint operation by police, defence and customs led to the discovery of 81 bales of cocaine floating in waters between Tonga and New Zealand. Floating transit points are a common method for transferring shipments between vessels. It is likely that this shipment was destined for Australia, states the report.

Senior bank official had 15kg meth

In February 2024, Tēvita Nonu Kolokihakaufisi, a senior official at the National Reserve Bank of Tonga was arrested, after Police seized a total of 15kg of methamphetamine at his family residence and Kolokihakaufisi’s office at the bank.

Returnees

Organised crime in the Pacific has also been accelerated by deportees from Australia, the United States and New Zealand. These have directly led to the formation of chapters of Australasian gangs such as the Rebels, the Mongrel Mob, and the Comancheros in the Pacific.

Police in Tonga said an alleged Comancheros gang member deported from Australia was behind moves to establish the outlaw motorcycle group in Tonga. The attempt was disrupted in a drug bust in August 2024 when Police arrested 17 people and seized several kilograms of methamphetamine in raids across Tongatapu. This included shipment of 2.6kg of methamphetamine imported from the United States, as well as guns and ammunition. A customs officer and a prisons officer were among those arrested in the raids.

Now authorities believe that American deportations are set to make the problem significantly worse, expecting somewhere around 1,000 deportations set to occur, with 500 arriving in Fiji alone.

“The inflows of high-level criminality within small populations will always create problems, but these are exacerbated in the Pacific by cultural norms,” says the corruption report.

“…Within the Pacific, organised crime groups are exploiting these cultural vulnerabilities. This not only makes them both difficult to combat but also directly threatens New Zealand as cultural connections are tightly interwoven between Pacific nations and the large Pacific population in New Zealand.”

The Advisory Group recommends that, in addition to developing a National Anti-Corruption Strategy, that the New Zealand Government should also create a Pacific Anti-Corruption Strategy together with Pacific countries and Australia.

“For the Pacific, we recommend supporting the development of similar measures to manage corruption, including vetting and education, and making specialist support available to help Pacific nations respond to acute organised crime problems.”

This should include making available a specialist team of investigators and prosecutors to respond to acute issues in the Pacific, they said.

The Advisory Group is chaired by Steve Symon, a New Zealand regulatory compliance and criminal prosecutor,