Concerns are mounting over the effectiveness of drug enforcement efforts in New Zealand following a sharp rise in cocaine use and continued large-scale drug imports.
According to a report by Rebecca Wright of Stuff, police minister Mark Mitchell is facing scrutiny after announcing a new initiative to send five police officers and drug detection dogs to Samoa. The move aims to disrupt South American cartels increasingly using Pacific routes to traffic drugs into the country.
The announcement comes amid new police wastewater testing data, which revealed a 98% spike in cocaine use during the final quarter of 2025. For the first time, cocaine consumption surpassed MDMA use. At the same time, New Zealanders were found to be consuming more than 37 kilograms of methamphetamine each week, Stuff has reported.
Mitchell said the rise in detections does not necessarily indicate an increase in the number of users, but rather a change in behaviour among existing users. According to him, wastewater data suggests that those already using methamphetamine are doing so more frequently, as reported by Stuff.
Despite ongoing enforcement efforts, including major operations and the imprisonment of senior gang members, drugs continue to enter the country in large volumes. This has prompted debate about whether current strategies are effectively curbing supply.
“If enforcement is working, why are more drugs flowing into the country?”, Stuff has quoted.
Mitchell acknowledged the challenges authorities face in tackling organised crime, pointing to the sophistication and resources of international cartels.
“Cartels are well organised, they’ve got big networks, they’ve got plenty of money, they’re very inventive in terms of how they do things,” Mitchell said. “I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s not, it’s tough,” as quoted by Stuff.
An interview discussing the issue in more detail with Rebecca Wright has also been released.
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