Customs authorities across the Pacific are now on the frontline of the fight against increasingly sophisticated transnational criminal networks that are exploiting the region’s vast ocean spaces and legitimate supply chains, says Mohammed Ajaz, Customs Enforcement Advisor with the Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO).
“The role of Customs has fundamentally changed,” Ajaz said.
“Our officers are no longer just border administrators — they are now defending our societies from highly organised criminal syndicates targeting our geography.”
Ajaz said Pacific island nations, despite small populations, manage enormous maritime zones that have become attractive transit routes for drugs bound for lucrative overseas markets.
He cited major seizures in January, including 2.6 tonnes of cocaine intercepted in Fiji and 4.87 tonnes seized in French Polynesia on the same day, as proof that criminal groups now view the Blue Pacific as a billion-dollar corridor.
He warned that syndicates are increasingly infiltrating legitimate supply chains, recruiting insiders and concealing drugs in industrial machinery, refrigerated containers and everyday consumer goods.
“The so-called ‘rip-on, rip-off’ method, where drugs are inserted into legitimate cargo, has become standard practice across trans-Pacific routes,” Ajaz said.
In response, OCO has intensified intelligence-sharing among its 24 member countries and expanded cooperation with global partners such as the World Customs Organisation.
New technologies, non-intrusive inspection systems and specialised training are also being deployed to protect trade while disrupting criminal activity.
“When drugs enter our communities, we lack the rehabilitation systems to deal with the fallout,” Ajaz said. “That’s why communities must be partners. Prevention is our only real option.”
He said success must be measured not only in seizures, but in families protected, youth kept safe and communities preserved.
