Huge Drug and Weapons Haul in French Polynesia Echoes Kash Patel’s Warnings

When the FBI director announced the opening of a New Zealand office, he said the Pacific was becoming a hub for transnational crime.
Huge Drug and Weapons Haul in French Polynesia Echoes Kash Patel’s Warnings
The 11 Glock pistols and 22 magazines seized from the intercepted ship. OFAST/Comgend Polynésie Française
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While countering Beijing’s influence in the Pacific was chief among the reasons given by FBI Director Kash Patel when he opened the agency’s new office in Wellington last week, both he and New Zealand’s security ministers also spoke of rising transnational crime affecting the region.

In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Wellington described the purpose of the new office as working “to investigate and disrupt a wide range of threats and criminal activities, including terrorism, cybercrime and fraud, organised crime and money laundering, child exploitation, and foreign intelligence threats.”

Rex Widerstrom
Rex Widerstrom
Author
Rex Widerstrom is a New Zealand-based reporter with over 40 years of experience in media, including radio and print. He is currently a presenter for Hutt Radio.