Convicted Sydney multi-millionaire allegedly granted Vanuatu citizenship
Andrew Spira, a 28-year-old self-proclaimed multi-millionaire from Sydney, Australia, who has criminal plans, including forming an armed militia in Vanuatu and East Timor, has allegedly been granted Vanuatu
Chinese Communist Party-Backed Businessman in Fiji is a Top Australian Criminal Target
Prominent Fiji-based businessman Zhao Fugang is a trusted advocate for China’s interests in the Pacific. But Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies suspect he plays another part: as a senior organized
$2 billion drug bust, 13 charged in Fiji
Thirteen people have been charged in relation to the seizure of more than four tonnes of methamphetamine in Nadi, Fiji, following consultation with the Office of the Director
Woman arrested over alleged PNG drug smuggling plot
A Chinese woman arrested over an alleged $15 million drug smuggling plot has been associated with businesses that have reportedly received payments from an Australian government-funded refugee programme in Papua New
One in three U.S. Asians and Pacific Islanders faced racial abuse this year
Despite ongoing advocacy and legislation to combat anti-Asian racism that arose after the pandemic, about a third of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders say they have experienced an act of abuse based on their race or
New York man caught smuggling butterflies from Solomon Islands
A New York man from Long Island was charged Tuesday with smuggling more than US$200,000 worth of wildlife in and out of the Solomon Islands. This included deceased butterflies known as “birdwings,” which are known
Australia-owned Pacific Telco likely exploited by private spies
An Australian-owned mobile phone operator in the Pacific Islands, Digicel Pacific, has likely been used by private spy firms to track people on the other side of the world and steal their data, according to an expert
Lethal force to be used by PNG Police
Papua New Guinea police will be able to use lethal force to deal with crimes that come under Domestic Terrorism through the amendments to the Criminal Code Act. Police Commissioner David Manning said this as the
Researcher examines criminal deportations to the Cook Islands
Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI) last week hosted assisting researcher Henrietta McNeill, a PhD Candidate with the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University (ANU)
‘No entry’: Fiji government warns New Zealand criminal gangs
New Zealanders linked to criminal groups and trying to enter Fiji have been warned they will be turned away at the Fijian border. A Kiwi, with Fijian connections, was refused entry at Nadi Airport last week after border
Researchers held hostage in PNG released
Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has said all hostages taken by a Papua New Guinean criminal gang have been released, including an Australian academic, and will be reunited with their families.
Stop urban drift, says PNG Govt
Papua New Guinea deputy Prime Minister John Rosso says the Government is looking at re-introducing the Vagrancy Act to curb the rise in crime and lawlessness in urban centres around the country. Rosso was responding in
PACIFICi Portal to assist investigative anti-corruption efforts
With the Pacific Island region increasingly impacted by organised transnational crime, international drug and people smuggling, money laundering and corruption, a new web-based investigative tool, PACIFICi, is set to
Pacific Islands increasingly used as crime transit point, experts say
The Pacific islands are increasingly being used as a transit point for transnational crime, including drug trafficking and money laundering, experts say. Criminal organisations from Asia and the Americas are exploiting
China to build PNG anti-narcotics lab to test drugs
The Chinese government has pledged to build a national anti-narcotics laboratory in the country to boost the capability of the Royal PNG Constabulary amidst growing transnational organised criminal activities in the
COVID-19 may create a flood of criminal deportations to the Pacific
Closed borders have created a backlog of criminal deportations to Pacific Islands states, and more effective transition programs are needed to reduce the risk of recidivism among returnees, Henrietta McNeill and Magele
Transformation of a Port Moresby settlement
Joyce Bay settlement, formerly known as Horse Camp, is a notorious settlement in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG). It has been known for criminal activity, and as a place where many criminals live. The settlement is
Boosting networks against transnational crime
By Nic Maclellan Last month Tongan police confirmed that more than 14 kilograms of cocaine had washed up on beaches in Vava’u. Police say the drugs have an estimated sale value of over $5 million pa’anga and more
