SUVA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Pacific region is no longer merely a transit route for organized crime, but is increasingly becoming a destination for criminal syndicates, Fiji Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu warned on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Pacific Transnational Crime Summit, Tudravu said criminal syndicates were tightening their grip on Pacific nations, leaving communities to bear the social and economic consequences of crimes largely driven by demand outside the region.
He warned that Pacific Island countries now sit directly along major global trafficking routes, exposing them to rising drug abuse, violence, social instability and mounting pressure on already stretched law enforcement agencies.
However, Tudravu rejected suggestions that the Pacific was losing the battle against transnational crime, saying regional police forces must demonstrate they are capable of fighting back through stronger cooperation and coordinated enforcement.
He called for greater intelligence sharing, joint investigations and coordinated prosecutions across borders, stressing that organized crime could not be tackled by countries working in isolation.
The meeting brings together regional law enforcement agencies to strengthen collective responses to organized crime, illicit trade and drug trafficking.
In recent years, Pacific nations have reported increasing seizures of methamphetamine, cocaine and other illicit drugs, raising concerns about the growing sophistication of transnational criminal networks operating across the region.
Regional security experts have also warned that limited resources, porous maritime borders and the Pacific's vast ocean geography continue to make island nations attractive targets for organized crime groups involved in drug trafficking, money laundering and human smuggling. ■
