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I chose this topic because I thought that I could learn about something that I hadn’t previously known and about a foreign topic that I showed interest in. The topic drug trafficking was interesting to me, and I wanted to know what country expressed this problem. I learned a lot of facts and information about New Zealand such as how it was first developed and who settled there. I learned mostly about the country’s statistics and some of the facts really surprised me. For example, I did not know that their population was 5,053,004 and the percentage for urbanization was 86.9%. Some challenges that I encountered was trying to find the right padlet to use. I had to go through many formats and occasionally re-organize the information, which took a lot of time. Overall, the research was easy and gathering all the information to put in the padlet was not difficult. If I were to do the project again, I would try to pick a different country or topic to further gather more information. I would organize and plan out everything so that I could just put it all in the padlet.

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By the introduction of the drugs to the economy, New Zealand began to grow as tourism boomed and the local drug market grew. There was a rising addiction amongst the locals and the networks. This caused the local gangs to interfere, and they expanded all over the Pacific. The United Nations secretary general’s high-level panel was named one of the 6 global challenges and they work to solve the ongoing problem. They work in aiding the transnational crime and put a stop to these drugs and the suppliers. Another organization that is working to help is Interpol and they help establish global operations to assist on investigations. They analyze the routes and the networks involved. They offer a system for local police to help tackle the problem in each area. This seems more like a long-term problem, and it might not get solved very easily. I think that over time this problem can be solved by using tactics such as more security and more warning made aware to the people to keep them informed. If more government officials can work together and start at the root of the problem such as the distribution centers to stop it from being made. The officials can also work in the towns to catch the gangs. Over time the problem might seem to go down but with the help of government and leaders the problem could be solved.

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This shows a route in which drugs are transported all around the Pacific. Source: https://www.unodc.org/roseap//en/2016/09/tocta-pacific-report-launch/story.htm

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In New Zealand and the Pacific islands, there have been an increase in the trafficking in cocaine and methamphetamine. By using the resources around, them such as the Pacific Ocean, they could use it as easy transportation to smuggle drugs easily. As the rise of motorcycle gangs increases, they have expanded the drug industry. People have reported seeing an increase of 90 members of the gang travelling the Pacific in search of selling and transporting drugs. In 2004 the largest super lab was made and had produced up to 5 kilograms of methamphetamine and 1000 kilograms of methamphetamine were seized from a local warehouse. The drugs were then taken to a production site which included the Chinese national’s and they continued to produce more.

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this is a map of new Zealand. Credit: https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/new-zealand

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New Zealand is a remote island country in the south Pacific Ocean. It lies more than 1,000 kilometers southeast of Australia. It consists of 2 major landmasses, the north island and the South Island and over 700 smaller islands. The islands were created over 23 million years ago with the effect of volcanic eruptions. Now it has over 50 volcanoes some of which are active today.

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this shows the settlers coming in and making a settlement on the island of new Zealand. Credit: https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/new-zealand-education-histor

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Some of the first people to settle on New Zealand were the Māori which they arrived during 1200AD and 1300 AD. The first Europeans to settle was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642. Soon after war broke out due to the European settlers selling their land for settlement and soon after in 1860’s a war broke out in the North Islands.  New Zealand became independent in 1907. During WWII New Zealand troops fought overseas for the UK.

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Drug trafficking and why is it important

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Globally, drug trafficking has been a major issue and people have gone to many limits to break the law and smuggle the drugs. Drug trafficking is the illegal trade involving the manufacture, trade, and distribution of illegal drugs without the knowledge of the law. A lot of people demand these drugs and some of the main causes are the supply and demand, money, and medical reasons. Many people use painkillers without knowing it could lead to addiction and overuse. Many people take these drugs without knowing the consequences down the line and it could harm them in many ways possible.  Many people also do it for money purposes as there could be a lot of money involved by “finishing” a deal.

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Some things that could solve this problem are informing the general public, informing political leaders and being informed about the problem. More security could be provided at the transfer posts such as the borders to stop people from crossing into country lines. Government leaders could be more aware and set up laws and security to do so. Some organizations that could work with this cause is the crimjust global program by the United Nations and they enhance and survey drug trafficking routes and the flow of illegal drugs. Another group that helps with this is Interpol which they help national police and conduct investigations to try and stop this. They can target the main sources of the cause and come up with plans and solutions to work together and solve the problem.

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One of the main tourist attractions and geological features of new Zealand. Credit: https://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.co.uk/travels/new_zealand/

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Some of the statistics tell me how much of the country’s GDP is ($42.400) or the unemployment rate (4.13%). It can tell me whether the country is urban (86.9%) and the population growth rate (1.17%). I can tell if the country is developed. The population of New Zealand is 5,053,004 and their main natural resources are natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal and timber.