'Pacific Drugs Highway': Australia's New Plan to Target Cocaine Traffickers Moving Through Islands The Australian government has launched a $600 million plan to combat cocaine smuggling through the Pacific, a region plagued by poverty, inequality, and lack of infrastructure.
The statistics are alarming: at least five "narco subs" have been found in the Solomon Islands and Marshall Islands since November 2025, with over $4 billion worth of cocaine seized in French Polynesia and Fiji in January and February alone.
The Pacific region has become a "porous border" for traffickers, who exploit the area's vulnerability to import cocaine into Australia.