Introduction
Most New Zealanders think of organised crime as something that happens somewhere else - cartel turf wars in Latin America, cyber-fraud rings in Eastern Europe, or gang violence in Australia. Yet the Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational Serious and Organised Crime (TSOC) warns in its final September 2025 report that this threat is now our number-one national-security challenge.
Whether you live in Auckland or Ashburton, the impacts of organized crime are real: higher community violence, rising addiction, financial scams, and corruption that erodes trust in our institutions.
A Dire Situation
Organised crime has evolved faster than the systems meant to stop it.
As Prime Minister Christopher Luxon noted, the resources flowing from global cartels are “massive”, and New Zealand must coordinate far better to push back. Methamphetamine consumption has more than doubled since 2024. Customs now intercepts in a week what only a decade ago they seized across an entire year.
Meanwhile, cyber-fraud stripped nearly $400 million from Kiwi victims last year. Migrant exploitation and black-market tobacco are growing. Corruption and money laundering are being targeted by organised criminal groups.
A National-Level Solution
The Ministerial Advisory Group’s prescription is as bold as its diagnosis. It calls for the appointment of a Minister for Organised Crime, supported by a Transnational Serious Organised Crime Executive Board, reporting to that Minister. This Board would coordinate intelligence, align strategic priorities and hold agencies accountable for results.
Supporting the Board would be a dedicated TSOC Business Unit tasked with aligning government and private sector efforts, ensuring a unified, efficient, and effective system-wide response, and providing continuous performance oversight.
The plan also champions a prevention-led approach, treating drug addiction as a health issue, empowering communities and iwi, integrating the private sector (particularly high-risk industries) as part of the solution, and making information-sharing across agencies and sectors the default rather than the exception.
Above all, it seeks to make New Zealand the hardest place in the world for organised crime to operate, profit and cause harm, a vision that sits at the heart of the Ministerial Advisory Group’s final report.
Why It Matters
This isn’t just a law-enforcement story; it’s about who we are as a nation. Organised crime corrodes safety, fairness, trust, for all New Zealanders. The report’s message is clear: we can’t arrest our way out of the problem, but united, accountable, prevention-driven action can still turn the tide. This is a challenge that transcends politics, demanding the courage and collaboration of us all.
The full report, Lead Boldly, Act Decisively: Why New Zealand Must Unite Against Organised Crime, is available on the Customs Service website
About the Author
Owen Loeffellechner is a national security and resilience advisor with over 30 years of experience in law enforcement and enterprise protection. He is a member of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational Serious and Organised Crime and one of the co-authors of the September 2025 final report.
