FBI director Kash Patel’s secret South Pacific tour saw New Zealand welcome a new FBI office as the region battles a worsening methamphetamine epidemic, writes Patrick Drennan.
ON 30 JULY, FBI head Kash Patel flew to the South Pacific to raise America’s profile in the region. Australia and New Zealand are part of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, along with the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. After a secret dash to Australia, where he met Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, he flew on to New Zealand
New Zealand is a small country and Patel's plane was immediately spotted at Wellington airport by a rookie reporter. Nevertheless, secrecy was generally maintained and even Finance Minister Nicola Willis was surprised to see “lots of handsome men in suits, who look like they had guns” (Patel’s entourage) in the Parliamentary Offices, affectionately known as the Beehive.
Patel met with New Zealand spy agency heads and senior ministers, including Foreign Minister Winston Peters (pictured on X). He then announced that the FBI will be opening an office in the American embassy in Wellington.
The fortified embassy is just up the road from the 150-year-old St Paul’s Church. The church has a plaque and a flag, commemorating the United States Marine Corps (Second Division), which assisted New Zealand in fighting off the Japanese invasion in World War II. Many Pacific nations, including Australia and New Zealand, have strong military and historical links to the United States.
And like many Pacific nations, New Zealand is facing the scourge of imported illegal drugs. The assistance of a dedicated FBI unit in the region is generally welcomed.
On 25 June, New Zealand Customs and Police, working with American authorities, intercepted a scheme to import methamphetamine and cocaine into the country in unclaimed luggage. The haul was valued at over $270 million. Fifteen baggage handlers were arrested.
Fiji, Samoa and Tonga are overwhelmed with class A drugs, infecting not just the cities but all levels of society.
Fiji lies directly between Australia and New Zealand, countries that attract some of the highest illegal drug prices in the world. In January 2024, Fijian police seized three tonnes of methamphetamine, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Children were using and peddling these drugs.
In Tonga, there is a methamphetamine epidemic with consumption believed to have reached all levels of Tongan society, including church ministers, civil servants, politicians, local chieftains and the police. One of the youngest dealers in a recent investigation was only eight years old.
Award-winning Television New Zealand reporter Barbara Dreaver carried out a series of investigative reports on increasing methamphetamine use in Samoa and was astounded by how pervasive it was. She reported that some families were trafficking their children to pay off drug debts.
So, while the extra assistance in law enforcement is welcome, Patel also mentioned the need to counter China’s growing political influence in the Pacific region. New Zealand’s Minister of Defence, Judith Collins, immediately went on the defensive. Primarily because China is New Zealand’s main trading partner and has been for decades. They cannot overtly offend the Chinese. China responded by accusing America of having a “Cold War mentality”.
Interestingly, just as Patel’s plane re-entered Hawaiian airspace, the Trump Administration announced a 5% tariff charge increase on New Zealand imports (up from 10% to 15%). Inexplicably, Australia remained at 10%.
Yet, New Zealand exports to America have been declining in the last 12 months, as some exporters are already quitting the American market.
One exporter declared:
“We have a number of deals [with America] in the pipeline that the customer wanted DDP [Deliver Duty Paid] but we have revised these to be CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) so they are responsible for all tariffs. Hopefully, it won’t stop them completing the deals.”
Kash Patel was the first senior member of the Trump Administration to visit the region since taking office. A visit that dealt with an issue of great concern for the South Pacific. Yes, it did not deal with other major issues for the region such as aid, climate change and trade. Nevertheless, it was welcome.
Perhaps, after his warm welcome in Scotland, President Donald Trump would also like to consider visiting the world-class golf courses of Australia, Fiji and New Zealand.
Patrick Drennan is a journalist based in New Zealand, with a degree in American history and economics.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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