FIJIANS and other Pacific islanders will soon play a frontline role in combating transnational crime through a new regional information-sharing platform linking communities with local and international law enforcement agencies.
Speaking at a press conference in Momi Bay yesterday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the initiative would support intelligence gathering efforts across the Pacific, including a campaign encouraging islanders to report suspicious maritime activity to authorities.
Commissioner Barrett said Pacific nations must work collectively to safeguard the region from organised crime, particularly the growing threat posed by international drug cartels.
She also announced the launch of a joint investigations team involving the AFP, New Zealand Police, Australian Border Force, New Zealand Customs and the Colombian National Police aimed at disrupting illicit drug shipments into the Pacific.
She warned drug trafficking networks were increasingly targeting Pacific communities, bringing devastating social impacts already experienced in Australia.
“We will also lay out the plans for a Pacific wide campaign
asking Pacific islanders to send suspicious citings of maritime vessels in
their waters to law enforcement for intelligence gathering,” she said.
“It is a shared responsibility to maintain a stable, a peaceful
and a resilient Pacific.”
She said stronger intelligence sharing and closer regional policing partnerships were critical to dismantling organised crime syndicates and protecting Pacific families and future generations from the spread of illicit drugs.
“Pacific island chiefs of police have watched from afar the impacts of illicit drugs on Australia and now we fear the diabolical reality facing all of our communities.
“Together as heads of Pacific police we need to target the cartels and organised criminals who traffic the poison affecting our communities and our kids.
“Our communities are relying on our collective action to keep them safe. It takes our connected network of police chiefs and commissioners across the Pacific to break the organised crime networks targeting our communities.”
