At least seven narcotics smuggling submarines have been discovered in Pacific waters near Australia over the past 18 months, with three more of the drug-running vessels reportedly washed up in the Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands in recent months.
Experts say the vessels, which they suspect are making the journey from the Americas through the Pacific islands to deliver cocaine to the lucrative Australian market, will become even more common as new figures show Australia's demand is leading the world.
Last week, Solomon Islands police revealed a "narco sub" had washed ashore in Makira province in the country's south-east in December.
It brings the discoveries in the Solomon Islands to four.
The ABC has confirmed two narco subs have been found in the Marshall Islands.
It brings the total number of verified discoveries in the South Pacific since August 2024 to seven.
Locals in Marshall Islands said another two subs were discovered, which would bring the total to nine, but the ABC has been unable to independently verify them.
"There will be a lot more [narco subs and drug seizures]," said Professor Alexander Gillespie, an international law expert from the University of Waikato.
"Organised crime will be drawn to where the profit is greatest and the profits in the illegal drug market are highest [in] both Australia and New Zealand."
[graphic]The discoveries come as Pacific authorities are inundated with recent drug smuggling activity.
More than 11.5 tonnes of cocaine worth $3.4 billion has been discovered by French Polynesian authorities over the past month.
And 2.6 tonnes of cocaine worth $780 million was seized in a remote village in Fiji in January.
Authorities suspect the drugs were most likely headed to Australia or New Zealand.
Last week, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said she believed "tonnes of illicit commodities" had been stockpiled in the Pacific "over many years".
"It's going through the roof — just an insane amount of drugs," Professor Gillespie said.
Professor Gillespie said the record drug busts in the Pacific recently would have been considered "extraordinary" a few years ago.
"Now, almost every week or every month you see another record being broken," he said.
"And you're only seeing what's getting washed up or getting caught, and that's only ever a minority of the illegal market."
More drugs, more subs
Of the seven narco subs discovered, only one has been intercepted with drugs and people on board.
In a 2024 operation in international waters, 1,750 kilometres north of French Polynesia, the US Coast Guard seized 3.7 tonnes.
The men on board, from Ecuador, were sentenced in July, with reports suggesting the drugs were on the way to Australia.
The two known narco subs found in the Marshall Islands washed ashore at similar spots in recent months.
"Same atoll, but different kind of location, I would guess 30 miles [48km] apart," said Arthmen Laukon, a resident of Arno Atoll.
Mr Laukon said he went to a beach area for work and almost tripped over when he saw the boats, which had now been claimed by locals.
"I was kind of shocked, I was surprised. It's my first time to see this kind of boat first-hand, right there in front of me," he said.
"[They told me] when they first discovered it, it was like that — no motor and was empty."
Mr Laukon said there were rumours of another two narco subs in the country, with one used to transport people between atolls. But this has not been verified by the ABC.
He said he was worried that the country, with a population of about 40,000, was part of a drug route.
"I am really concerned," he said.
"We see people are taking drugs here and there. We don't know where they get their supplies from."
'I like what Trump is doing'
The increasing use of a major drug corridor in the Pacific is placing a strain on resources in small island nations.
In French Polynesia, authorities have been dumping cocaine at sea and releasing the traffickers involved, with leaders in the island province saying they do not have the resources to prosecute those involved.
One of the drug vessels, the MV Raider, was found with 4.87 tonnes of cocaine last month, but the ship and its crew were set free.
The ship was on the way to Sydney but suddenly changed course, altering its destination to New Caledonia's Noumea.
The ABC has been tracking the vessel and it is now between New Caledonia and Australia after making a u-turn.
In the Solomon Islands, police and politicians last week held an inquiry into the impact of drugs on the country.
The illicit drug issue is so new that the country does not have legislation to convict people for the possession or trafficking of methamphetamine.
[audio]Speaking at the inquiry, Solomon Islands assistant commissioner for crime and intelligence Patrica Leta said the four narco subs found in the country had no drugs on board, apart from some "crumbs".
But, she said, limited finances meant that only two of the four narco subs had been investigated by authorities.
"We don't have funds available to respond on time," she said.
Speaking at the inquiry, Solomon Islands opposition leader Matthew Wale said he wanted more robust action to deal with narco subs in the region.
He praised the actions of the Trump administration, which has been using drone technology to fatally strike suspected "narcoterrorists".
"I like what Trump is doing, shooting these boats out of the water and killing them all to smithereens," he said.
"I like the bombing because we don't have to spend police resources to bring them to the courts. Just kill them. Send them to hell."
Mr Wale asked a representative from the Australian Federal Police "would Australia bomb some of these boats out of the water?", which the representative declined to comment on.
Professor Gillespie said the idea of blowing up narco subs was increasingly popular.
"The problem is, it violates the most fundamental principles of human rights law and basic criminal law and basic civil liberty," he said.
Professor Gillespie said he doubted the actions of the Trump administration, or any administration considering it, would affect the illegal drug trade.
"Organised crime will be building loss into their models. They will expect to be losing a certain amount," he said.
"But the profits are so great they will still be oversupplying the market.
"If you can see that the price of the drug in your country is falling it's telling you that the supply is increasing, no matter how much effort we're putting into it."
Mr Gillespie said countries in the Pacific were considered "weak" and less risky.
"This is going to get worse, the corruption will get more, and the crime and the death and the mayhem and the negative impacts will all just accelerate," he said.
"It's not the drugs like cocaine that you've got to worry about, it's the next generation of opioids like fentanyl, which are going to start making their way into the market."
