MARSHALL ISLANDS

Fighting organized crime in the Marshall Islands

The isolated nature of the Pacific islands, their sparse population and geographic positioning between the Americas and Asia make the region attractive to organized crime. The Marshall Islands is made up of 29 atolls and five islands spread over an area of 470,000 km².

The four major types of transnational crimes affecting the Marshall Islands are environmental crime and trafficking in drugs, people and stolen firearms.

The country’s rich land and maritime biodiversity has created a market for wildlife traffickers who use the vast high sea transit zones to smuggle protected flora and fauna to markets all over the world.

The international characteristics of these crimes and their links with crime networks around the world mean the role of INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau (NCB) in Majuro is crucial to preserving national security and keeping the region safe.

INTERPOL in Marshall Islands

NCB Majuro is part of the Marshall Islands Police Department (MIPD). Located at the MIPD headquarters and headed by the Police Commissioner, the INTERPOL NCB in Majuro is the central point of contact for investigations involving the Marshall Islands and the international police community.

The Majuro NCB plays a central role in preventing the country and surrounding region from serving international organized crime. By providing globally-sourced intelligence about crime trends, the NCB plays a central role in sharing information on emerging crime threats affecting the Marshall Islands and ways to tackle them.

In particular, the NCB helps police officers across the Marshall Islands to detect and investigate the flow of illicit goods along land and maritime trafficking routes in and around its national territory and waters.

Law enforcement in the Marshall Islands

Created in 1952, MIPD is part of the Ministry of Justice. Headed by a Police Commissioner, the force is responsible for law enforcement throughout the Republic of the Marshall Islands.