Fisherman's startling discovery in the middle of the ocean exposes $10 billion threat to Australia.

Yahoo

3 days ago

A fisherman's eerie find floating in the ocean could be connected to a dark and complex network of drug traffickers that are moving almost completely undetected towards Australia. A strange-looking, completely abandoned boat was discovered off the Solomon Islands on Monday, with experts telling Yahoo News the Pacific is at risk of being "taken over" by organised crime.
The long, narrow boat is known as a low-profile vessel [LPV], or a 'narco sub', and was found partially submerged on Monday afternoon near Ramos Island, between Malaita and Santa Isabel Island. The vessels are designed to be as discreet as possible, sitting low in the water and usually dark in colour.
The fisherman who found it, Ben Maenu'u, is also a member of parliament. He told Yahoo News he'd never seen anything like it in his country before.
"This one is like a submarine. Three engines behind it, the steering is at the back. There's a room inside the boat. I'd like to tow it to my wife's village, but it's a bit far away so I just tied it there."
He said there's a chance something could be inside, but he couldn't know for sure until he could pump the water out of it.
While Maenu'u hadn't seen one of these boats in his waters before, he knew straight away of the purpose it served.
"I'm a bit worried. Looks like the traffickers must be around doing something around these islands in the Pacific."
'Narco subs' expose route across Pacific in international sting
Late last year, the Colombian navy in collaboration with dozens of other countries, stopped three semi-submersible vessels en route to Australia, each packed with cocaine. The boats held enough fuel to sail across the Pacific to Australia without needing to stop and refuel.
Officials said the vessels were caught during a six-week period, which suggested that cartels were establishing new direct routes and methods of transporting drugs to Australia.
The Australian market for cocaine is lucrative. Australians spend $10 billion a year on all illegal drugs, and top the list of the world's biggest users of cocaine per capita, according to the World Drug Report 2025. The majority of that is consumed in NSW.
Australians also pay up to six times more per kilo than users in the US.
Ben Mostyn, drug policy expert and deputy director of the Sydney Institute of Criminology, told Yahoo News drug smugglers will use "anything and everything" to get their deliveries across borders.
"They will get speed boats that go faster than police boats, they will get submarines, they will build tunnels, they use large ships and then go to shore on a small ship, they can use private sailboats... so they kind of just throw the kitchen sink at it, really.
"Cocaine is very popular in Australia and very expensive... so it just seems obvious that market forces from Latin America will start sending more and more cocaine to Australia."
Mr Mostyn said it's generally accepted that customs stop less than 10 per cent of illicit drugs coming into the country, with the substances coming in via "every entry" and "every port".
"It is effectively a flood," he said.
According to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission's Illicit Drug Data Report, sea cargo makes up less than 1 per cent of detections but carries 44 per cent of cocaine importation by weight.
'This would suggest it is an effective way to smuggle as it allows large consignments with a low risk of detection,' Mr Mostyn said.
Effects of drug trade leaching into Pacific nations
The drug trade through the Pacific has spillover effects on the smaller nations, including an increased presence of drugs in communities. Several nations like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa are all in the grip of a methamphetamine epidemic.
There are also fears of a growing level of corruption among officials.
Mostyn believes the Pacific is at risk of 'going the same way as Latin America and Southeast Asia' when it comes to organised crime.
'When you become a drug supply route, then of course, you're going to develop your own addiction problems as well. Where there are drug supply routes, there's almost always significant police corruption, especially where police salaries aren't very high," he said.
'Regulating cannabis may help the Pacific'
"This is one reason why we should consider regulating the drug trade. The Pacific should really consider growing and regulating cannabis because it would seem to be a good industry for the Pacific, and would also help reduce organised crime in the region."
Mostyn believes drug possession in Australia is all but decriminalised with the provision of safe injecting rooms and more lenient laws. "But we're not allowing countries in the Pacific to do the same thing," he said.
"You know, so they're sort of fighting the war on drugs for us, even though it's causing police corruption and organised crime."
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