Another drug bust by the police and items that were netted include methamphetamine, marijuana, guns and stolen items such phones, laptops and wallets.

Hopefully, Samoans are now realising how prevalent the narcotics meth or ice has become in our tiny little paradise. The other thing that must be realised is the trend of dealing in stolen items for narcotics.

The recent discovery of stolen electronic devices show that the drug peddlers are taking these devices as payments for the products they are selling. What this does is allow the users to think that whenever they do not have the money to purchase the drugs, bartering with an electronic device will do.

This has a chain reaction.  This has already led to an increase in the theft of such products. This is not a new thing. Such a trend has always been noticed in countries when meth hits the market. It is not a cheap narcotic.

The number of drug busts also show that our police team are on their toes and are constantly looking for people who delve in the trade of this narcotic.

There is also a concern about firearms. The photo provided by the police shows a handgun. We all know the regulations for the importation of firearms do not qualify these handguns to be brought into the country.

Then how come the raid netted this particular firearm. There was also ammunition that was found in the raid. How did this get into Samoa?

This all goes back to the theory that there are boats entering Samoan waters undetected and such items are being offloaded at our ports.

The illegal boat from American Samoa is developing into a bigger story than just the paperwork. It has exposed Samoa’s vulnerability to other such boats, carrying in whatever goods they want and offloading it at various points.

This has also brought out possible connections between the boats and officials in Samoa’s border enforcement and people higher up in the government. This shows how crime has prevailed through corruption.

Senior fellow at the Australian Pacific Security College and the author of a February report looking at the impacts of transpacific drug trafficking, José Sousa-Santos said last year that the Pacific is not ready for the tsunami that will come health wise related to the meth pandemic.

In his February report, Sousa-Santos noted that narco-corruption in the Pacific has undermined the rule of law and compromised individuals across a number of key agencies, including customs, police, and immigration.

A worrying potential outcome of that is what he described as a “shadow power structure,” where drug bosses and syndicates have more money and influence than traditional institutions and are thus able to exert their dominion over the people.

“Corruption remains a critical challenge to governance and an obstacle to development in the Pacific, according to this report,” the report noted.

“The infiltration of key government agencies and departments, corruption of public officials, and tactics from coercion to intimidation and outright violence are integral components of illicit drug markets.

“In the Pacific, narco-corruption has compromised institutions and individuals across key agencies such as customs, police, and immigration; and undermined the rule of law. In 2019, for example, Tonga’s “war on drugs” resulted in the arrests of a Tongan senior customs official and a police officer who were facilitating trafficking in methamphetamine, cocaine, and illegal firearms from the United States. It is likely there are far more examples.”

Are we seeing this happening in Samoa now? For years we have thought that Samoa was safe from such things that we have seen in movies and documentaries but as the drug trade widens around the world, we are evident of the destruction that it will create.

This is not just a crime issue that only the police deal with. It has become far much bigger than that. It needs the government to look at issues like border protection, national security, beefing up the health system, awareness programs and above all cut down on corruption.