Deportation of Palauans from the U.S. hits record high in 2023
Nine Palauan citizens were deported from the United States in 2023, marking the highest number of deportees Palau has received in a single year. This significant increase, compared to the usual two or less deportees per
Fall of a Fijian trafficker exposes previous government’s blind eye to meth
The imprisonment of a prominent Fijian businessman on drug charges is just one sign of the Pacific island country’s increasing role as an international trafficking hub. Key Findings: Until recently, Aiyaz
Israel frees Fijian UN peacekeepers cleared of drug smuggling suspicion
Israel has released three Fijian UN peacekeepers arrested for drug smuggling, after it emerged the suspicious substance they were carrying across the border was not liquid cocaine, police said Sunday. The three
Illegal narcotics and meth use among youths a concern in Fiji
When Fiji’s Minister for Home Affairs Pio Tikoduadua pointed out last year that the use and distribution of hard drugs had spiraled out of control and was a far bigger disaster than climate change, he was not
PNG Police take video of meth session
Papua New Guinea Police Commissioner David Manning has confirmed that a video circulating on social media, showing officers allegedly smoking methamphetamine is being investigated by the National Drug and Vice Squad.
PNG Doctor warns about serious impacts of meth use
The use of methamphetamines is a serious issue and has the potential to catastrophically impact Papua New Guinea society if not addressed, a doctor says. Registrar for emergency medicine at Port Moresby General Hospital
Drugs issue to pose escalated burden on PNG clinical services
A ticking time bomb waiting to explode awaits Papua New Guinea, according to practitioners in the Emergency Department of the Port Moresby General Hospital who reported seeing two cases with extreme psychosis in matters
PNG sitting on time bomb regarding synthetic drugs
Papua New Guinea is sitting on a ticking bomb regarding the selling and consumption of synthetic drugs, says a senior policeman in charge of the fight against drugs. Donald Yamasombi, head of the illicit and narcotics
Six PNG police officers charged with distributing meth
In a major crackdown on distribution of methamphetamine in Papua New Guinea, six police officers from National Capital District (NCD) and Central are now facing court over their alleged involvement in the distribution,
Most meth labs foreign owned and run by Papua New Guineans
Intelligence reports detail Papua New Guinea allegedly has more than 15 methamphetamine (meth) manufacturing laboratories. About seven of them are operating in nation’s capital with clandestine laboratories, three in
Eight jailed for cocaine washed up on Tongan beach
Eight Tongans in Vava’u were sentenced to between three years to 13.5 years’ imprisonment for their opportunistic roles in handling blocks of cocaine from a large shipment, found washed up on ‘Otualea Beach
PNG drugs suspects remanded
A Lae district court in Papua New Guinea has rejected bail for an expatriate and six Papua New Guineans implicated in the K35 million (US$9.9 million) methamphetamine bust in Lae last Tuesday. All seven, appearing from
Eight suspects arrested over PNG meth flight
A Papua New Guinea police officer, a Defence Force soldier from Igam Barracks, and a second Chinese national are among seven more men arrested in Lae over the weekend and are being questioned in relation to the
Five charged over PNG meth flight
Five alleged criminal syndicate members accused of orchestrating a black flight from Papua New Guinea to Australia with 52kg of methamphetamine on board have been charged under an AFP-led investigation. Four of the five
NZ intercepts US$315m worth of cocaine floating in Pacific Ocean
New Zealand authorities have found a record-breaking amount of cocaine floating in Pacific waters, which they say was bound for Australia and would have been enough to supply the country for a year. The 3.2-tonne haul
The next sin: Drug trade on the rise
Between Mexico and Australia is 165 million square kilometers of ocean. In that vast expanse of sea, travelling west and far from the eyes of police, navy and other law enforcement agencies, a precious cargo finds its
Fiji drugs stopped at Sydney border
A Bangladeshi national has been charged with importing a commercial quantity of liquid methamphetamine from Fiji into Australia. Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Border Force arrested the man at Sydney
Australian pilot sentenced to 18 years in PNG
An Australian pilot linked to the biggest drug bust in Papua New Guinea has been convicted and jailed for 18 years. The Waigani National Court on Friday sentenced David John Cutmore, 57, of Williams Landing, Queensland,
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
Australian pilot pleads guilty in PNG drug bust
Australian pilot David John Cutmore has pleaded guilty to transporting Papua New Guinea’s largest haul of cocaine two years ago. Cutmore took his plea in the PNG National Court at Waigani after Judge Teresa
$50m drug bust, COVID eases in French Polynesia
Police in French Polynesia have seized almost US$50 million worth of methamphetamine (‘ice’) on a cruise ship from the United States. A 27-year-old Tahitian passenger has been arrested after the discovery of
CNMI Customs confiscate $700K ‘ice’ at post office
The Division of Customs and Biosecurity confiscated 4.9 pounds of crystal methamphetamine (‘ice’) with a street value of US$700,000 at the post office in Chalan Kanoa on Saturday, the largest drug haul in