A Pacific Detector Dog programme dog in Tonga.
Photo: Giles Dexter / RNZ
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has given figures for drugs seized in the Pacific so far this year – more than three times the total amount seized in 2025.
A statement from Commissioner Krissy Barrett said 17 tonnes of illicit drugs, mostly cocaine, have been seized by local and international law enforcement in the Pacific since January.
It said the total seizure in the Pacific region last year was about 4.6 tonnes.
Barrett said most of the illicit drugs being trafficked to and through the Pacific are destined for Australia, so the AFP has a moral responsibility to act, and a direct responsibility to the Australian public to stop these drugs from reaching its shores.
Barrett said Australia’s Pacific family is seeking help for this growing problem.
“Pacific Island Chiefs of Police have watched from afar the impacts of illicit drugs on Australia and now they fear the diabolical reality facing their communities,” the statement said.
“The illicit drug threat to the Pacific is exponentially increasing – corroding their health systems, their family structures, and their future – their next generation.
“The effect on such small populations is devastating. It is a complete undermining of their faith, family structure and their proud culture.”
The Fiji Police Force and the AFP are co-hosting the Pacific Transnational Crime Summit this week, with the aim of strengthening regional cooperation on transnational crime.
The summit will bring together Pacific police ministers, senior Pacific operational law enforcement leaders and international partner agencies.
In March, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon – during his Pacific mission to Samoa and Tonga – acknowledged that the region was wrestling with the problem, but they were all stepping up their efforts and sharing more intelligence.
“It’s a Pacific problem, and it’s a Pacific solution that’s needed to be designed,” he said.
New Zealand Police recently released wastewater testing figures that showed cocaine use has hit an all-time high.
The wastewater data was collected between October and December 2025, and testing sites cover up to 77 percent of Aotearoa’s total population.
There’s also been a new initiative announced in Samoa, aiming to strengthen the prevention of and response to drug abuse among children and adolescents in the country.
Japan has contributed US$900,000 to the four-year project, which will focus on strengthening awareness amongst children and families on risks associated with drug use, and improving counselling and recovery support.
Tonga Police commissioner Geoff Turner said in February the illicit drug issue in the country is “not at the scale that some people think it is”, Matangi Tonga Online reported.
Turner told the newspaper that the police were “dealing with the [drug] issue”. However, a significant amount of drugs being transhipped across the region were not intended for the domestic market.
