Unearthing stories that matters |
Contents are mainly investigations from the Pacific Region, done by our regional journalists.
For the second time in a year, an abandoned narco-sub has washed ashore in the Solomon Islands, baffling authorities and residents alike. Reported byGina Maka’a, In-Depth SolomonsDan McGarry, OCCRP It has been three weeks since a narco-sub was spotted drifting in the turquoise waters off this remote Pacific nation, and…
The alleged sex trafficker and “king of toxic masculinity” was granted a golden passport by the South Pacific nation while under high-profile investigation in Romania. Tate now faces charges in the United Kingdom as well. He denies any wrongdoing. Reported by, Emanuel Stoakes (OCCRP), Dan McGarry (OCCRP) Ana Poenariu (Public…
Fiji’s former prime minister and police chief publicly associated with Zhao Fugang, a China-born businessman and Communist Party representative, even after police warned them that Zhao was suspected of ties to organized crime. Zhao has not been charged with any crime. Key Findings Fiji’s former prime minister and police chief…
Prominent Fiji-based businessman Zhao Fugang is a trusted advocate for China’s interests in the Pacific. But Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies suspect he plays another part: as a senior organized crime leader. Fugang has not been charged with any crime. By OCCRP KEY POINTS: From his perch at the…
by OCCRP and Inside PNG A China-born businesswoman accused of taking part in an audacious plot to fly a light plane packed with drugs from Papua New Guinea to Australia allegedly ordered a co-conspirator to pay into a bank account in the name of PNG’s former migration chief in order…
by Julie Badui Owa (Inside PNG), Carmel Pilotti (OCCRP), Kila Wani (Inside PNG), Dan McGarry (OCCRP), and Aubrey Belford (OCCRP), 26 January 2024 Mei Lin is a prominent member of Papua New Guinea’s business community, with ties to influential locals. She’s also allegedly a key player in an audacious drug trafficking…
By Charley Piringi Hyperchem Pharmacy (Solomon) Ltd has categorically denied any involvement or knowledge of Aiyaz Mohammed Musa Umarji’s alleged methamphetamine dealings. Umarji, who’s family owns 70% share in Hyperchem Solomons, was jailed for four years recently in New Zealand, over illegal importation of drugs. Director of Hyperchem Solomon, Ken…
By Georgina Maka’a & Ofani Eremae LANDS minister Ishmael Avui recently threatened to “slap” the Commissioner of Lands Alan McNeil, documents and audio recordings In-depth Solomons has obtained revealed. The flare-up was over government land and a house in the Lengakiki area, west Honiara, that Avui wanted to be given…
The imprisonment of a prominent Fijian businessman on drug charges is just one sign of the Pacific island country’s increasing role as an international trafficking hub. By Aubrey Belford, Stevan Dojcinovic, Jared Savage, & Kelvin Anthony Key Points: Until recently, Aiyaz Mohammed Musa Umarji was — in public at…
A pair of Chinese scam artists wanted to turn a radiation-soaked Pacific atoll into afuture metropolis. They ended up in an American jail instead. How they got there is anuntold tale of international bribery and grifting that stretched to the very center of theUnited Nations. By Aubrey Belford, Kevin G.…
