![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e91636b9ca1be5b050f1542df7d24bff.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nThe federal government is expected to tip $600 million into a new Pacific scheme designed to tackle the surge of drug smuggling into the region, including into Australia.<\/p>\n
It comes as leaders grapple with increasingly sophisticated and determined criminal cartels trafficking cocaine and methamphetamines into the country.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to announce the investment at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau today, as leaders prepare to endorse the Waqa Moana initiative aimed at bolstering surveillance of the vast Pacific Ocean and helping authorities to intercept smuggling vessels and so-called narco subs.<\/p>\n
The new funding package, which will be spread over several years, will see Australia spend more on aerial surveillance across the Pacific, as well as additional training and support for police in the region.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A narco sub washed up on a Solomon Islands beach. (Foreign Correspondent: Kyle Taylor)<\/p>\n
The new plan is also designed to help police across the Pacific region improve coordination to tackle the trade, while also bolstering Australian Federal Police cooperation with South and Central American countries in an attempt to target the source of the illegal drugs.<\/p>\n
Drug smuggling in Pacific fuelled by Australian demand for illicit drugs<\/p>\n
Australian and Pacific authorities have become increasingly concerned by the way the drug trade has contributed to social breakdown and police corruption in parts of the region, as well as its contribution to serious health problems like the HIV crisis in Fiji.<\/p>\n
A narco-sub washed up near their village. Inside was a troubling clue to its origins<\/a><\/p>\n At least seven narco subs have been discovered in Pacific waters in recent years, signalling a troubling new reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n The government is also conscious that the drug smuggling trade ravaging some Pacific communities is being fed by Australia’s appetites for illegal drugs, with smugglers keen to reach the lucrative markets of major cities such as Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.<\/p>\n Mr Albanese said the Pacific was Australia’s “home and family”.<\/p>\n “That’s why it’s in Australia’s interests to work with our Pacific partners to combat organised crime,” he said.<\/p>\n “For the good of every country in the region, including our own, we need to work together to stamp out the illicit drug trade.”<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Australian Federal Police declared the surge in drug smuggling a serious national security threat to both Australia and the region, with more than 17 tonnes of illicit cocaine and methamphetamine seized so far this year.<\/p>\n That is up from 5.5 tonnes in 2025.<\/p>\n Drug smuggling to be on agenda at Pacific Islands Forum<\/p>\n The announcement comes as Pacific leaders prepare for their major meetings at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, with the plenary session today and a private retreat on Thursday.<\/p>\n