10 Feb 2023

Pacific correspondent Koroi Hawkins

From Nine To Noon, 9:45 am on 10 February 2023
EMBARGOED until 1.40pm on February 8
New Zealand authorities have intercepted more than three tonnes of cocaine from a vessel in the Pacific Ocean. Operation Hydros - a joint mission by police, Customs and the Defence Force - seized 81 bales of the drug, totalling 3.2 tonnes, with an estimated street value of half a billion dollars. The shipment is destined for destruction, having since made the six-day journey back to New Zealand aboard the Royal New Zealand Navy vessel HMNZS Manawanui.

Photo: NZ Police / Supplied

A transnational crime expert says although the record seizure of cocaine announced by New Zealand authorities on Wednesday is significant it is still just a drop in the ocean.

There have been reports of unrest in Solomon Islands' Malaita Province where the outspoken provincial premier Daniel Suidani has been ousted in a motion of no confidence.

An international law expert believes Japan is passing the risk of its upcoming release of treated nuclear wastewater into the ocean onto Pacific leaders.

And the Oceania Football Confederation and the Asian Football Confederation have signed an agreement they say will see more matches between countries from the two FIFA regions.

RNZ Pacific Journalist Koroi Hawkins