TIME Asia Magazine: Ice: From Gang to Bust -- Jun. 28, 2004: "The 'plastics factory' was, from start to finish, a multinational affair. So, these days, is organized crimeand small Pacific nations are increasingly vulnerable to its embrace.
Lying between Asia and the rich markets of the United States, Australia and New Zealand, the islands are perfectly placed for transpacific smuggling. They're eager to attract tourists and investors, but their undersized police forces and outdated drug laws are easy to exploit. The Philippines, Guam, Palau and the Marianas have long been pit stops for drug traffickers, and police have warned for years that South Pacific states are also at risk."
