Abstract
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This case study examines the organized trafficking of
drugs into the Pacific region. The Pacific is small in
population but massive in area. Relative to the size of
states, there are significanl movement of drugs in the
region. The flow is generally from the developing to
the developed world for heroin and cOCc1ine, but the
ecstasy and amphetamine market is more mixed, with
manufacture in Europe, South East Asia and Pacific
Island states. Wilh over 5,000 vessels sailing through
the region everyday, ssearching each shipping container
is impossible. In Australia, for example, five ports
offload containers, with Melbourne alone handling
more than 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units
(TEUs) over the past year (Baird Maritime 2010). Few
are actually searched (due to the cost) so authorities are
already hampered. Transshipment through the Pacific
islands attracts less suspicion than shipments direct
from source areas, but tbe relatively small capacity
that developing states possess means that Australia
and New Zealand have an interest in developing the
customs and law enforcement capabilities of Pacific
island states. Despite current positive efforts, however,
concerns remain over the presence of transnational
criminal organizations in the Pacific.