The executive director of the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police organisation says countries in the region used for transiting methamphetamine to Australia and New Zealand are now becoming destination targets themselves.
Carl McLennan, also a superintendent in the New Zealand police, says smugglers use drug dependent Pacific people as cheap workers in their illicit enterprises.
The region's police chiefs met in American Samoa last month August with a focus on reducing drug harm in Pacific communities.
Mr McLennan spoke with Dominic Godfrey who started by asking how big a problem it is for Pacific Island countries and territories.
The New Zealand Defence Force has assisted Fiji authorities in recovering over 12 kgs of cocaine that were found on a remote island last week. Photo: New Zealand Defence Force
