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NZ Police Chief Pledges Ongoing Support For Fiji And Samoa
Kaya Selby, RNZ Journalist
New Zealand's top cop has reassured the leaders of Fiji and Samoa that he has their back, as a regionwide drug crisis rolls on.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers visited his counterparts in the two island nations last week to discuss drug trafficking, customs, intelligence sharing, and corruption.
Chambers said his primary commitment was that the Pacific Detector Dog Programme (PDDP), which provides trained detector dogs to the Pacific and trains handlers, would continue.
New Zealand Police announced that they have recently graduated nine new detector dog handlers, many from Pacific Island nations who are now headed home.
He said that New Zealand's drug detection dog training service is among the best in the world.
"That resource that we put in to train, not only dogs but handlers in both countries, is very well received."
The PDDP has funded detection across Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and the Cook Islands since 2018. So far, the government has spent around NZ$3.5 million on the project.
However, funding for the project was scheduled to end at the beginning of this month.
A spokesperson for MFAT told RNZ Pacific that "phase one of the programme is coming to a close", but that "MFAT and New Zealand Police are currently in discussions over the next phase of support."
Chambers did not say how many more dogs or trainers New Zealand could offer the region.
"The next step of work we do will be to quantify that. Likewise, one of the things we talked about is how can both countries at some stage maybe even stand on their own two feet."
Chambers also has a detective sergeant stationed in Fiji to train local police for investigative work, and staff members in Suva and Apia working on intelligence gathering and sharing.
Another topic of discussion was corruption, which Chambers warned could creep in anywhere.
"It's not just about police though, it's any person or official in a role of authority that may present a barrier to an organised criminal group."
"We need to be open and honest and talk about these issues, officials need to be very alert to the influence of corruption."
Chambers would not comment on corruption in the Samoan or Fijian police forces.
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