Ritika Pratap 
[File Photo]
The organized criminal syndicates and drug cartels are already exploring different vulnerabilities that can be used as transit points to transport drugs.
UNODC Pacific Head of Office Marie Cauchois Pegie says Fiji and other nations are no longer mere transit points or drug highways; they have become definitive points of entry.
Pegie says that despite this shift, organized criminal groups continue to exploit various domestic vulnerabilities.
“So Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji are the ones for the moment most affected. And I’m actually stressing the word for the moment, because the more vulnerabilities, the more the countries that are affected are addressing the problem; this problem is going to be spilling over to other places, and they’re already spilling over in different forms, but I think there are also risks of spilling over in different areas.
Pegie states that the drug trade has fully infiltrated the licit private sector, where commercial businesses increasingly serve as facades for illegal operations.
Pegie adds that this deep entrenchment blurs the line between the legal and illegal economies and makes the true extent of the problem exceptionally difficult to identify.
She says that without enough data, it is hard to tell whether the increase in drug seizure cases reflects a worsening problem or simply an improved capacity to seize drugs.
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