Lord Tu'ilakepa. The drug boss, Obeil Antonio Zuluaga Gomez, wanted to direct an alleged operating hub from Tonga and oversee cocaine shipments. It is alleged that Australians, Tongans, Colombians, Peruvians and west Africans played different roles in the global conspiracy, along with corrupt maritime industry figures. Assistant Commissioner Kevin Zucatto, who is leading the AFP's expanding anti-organised crime operations, told The Saturday Age that Operation Stair highlighted the globalised and technologically savvy threat posed by modern criminal syndicates. "The fact that you see an organised crime group from Colombia and Peru actively engaged in places like Tonga and then moving that narcotics to Australia ... is just another example of how large and sophisticated these groups are," he said.

Weapons seized in Tonga. Operation Stair arrested and charged four people in Australia in late 2010 over an alleged conspiracy involving two alleged shipments — 190 and 500 kilograms — of cocaine, in yet another indication of the nation’s hunger for the drug. While several syndicate members have also been arrested in Tonga and China, none of the cocaine allegedly smuggled by the group has been recovered by authorities. Weapons seized in Tonga. Tapped phone conversations reveal that the Colombian-led group sought the help of Lord Tu'ilakepa in late 2010 to help Gomez urgently obtain a visitor's visa. In a letter sent to the head of Tonga's Immigration Department, the Tongan politician wrote that "I, Lord Tu'ilakepa, Noble of the Realm and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga' would sponsor the visa of Obeil Antonio Zuluaga Gomez."

Gomez has been previously imprisoned for drug trafficking. Property raided. Lord Tu'ilakepa is a highly influential figure in Tonga and in August 2009 hosted an Australian parliamentary delegation, which later thanked him in a parliamentary report. According to the report, "Lord Tu'ilakepa ... was deeply indebted to the Australian Parliament" for the multimillion-dollar aid packages given to Tonga. Despite never having met Gomez, Lord Tu'ilakepa wrote that he would "guarantee that I will be providing the necessary housing and financial support to this person [Gomez] and take full responsibility for him during the duration of his stay".

"I can also vouch that the aforementioned is an honest, trustworthy and law abiding person," he wrote. As a result of a series of raids in Tonga prompted by Operation Stair, Lord Tu'ilakepa was charged with drug and weapons offences earlier this year although, until now, his alleged role in the global conspiracy has remained a secret. Lord Tu'ilakepa remains a serving MP. The Colombian-led syndicate is the second international crime group to set up operations in Tonga in the past 18months, highlighting a trend in which organised criminals are using nations or regions with weak institutions and high corruption. In mid-2010, a crime group linked to the Comancheros and Chinese Triads used Tonga as a drug transit point, with several corrupt officials, including a Tongan customs officer, facilitating importations to Australia. Organised criminals have also looked to other Pacific island nations, as well as East Timor, to set up drug exporting hubs. Corrupt insiders in the maritime industry, including crew members of international freighters, have been repeatedly identified in the operations of these syndicates.

Mr Zucatto said the AFP was focused not only on arrests and seizures, but making the operating environment for organised criminals "as hostile as we possibly can ... My view is disruption and prevention is just as important if not more important than enforcement strategies." The AFP's growing focus on combating organised crime has led to a 316 per cent increase in drug seizures in the past financial year. Mr Zucatto also revealed that a federal and state taskforce, Polaris, which is aimed at identifying corruption and organised crime in the maritime sector, was making good inroads. "While it certainly hasn't stopped [corrupt maritime industry insiders], they certainly must be feeling the pain," he said. Last week, a Polaris-led operation identified an allegedly corrupt waterfront worker in Sydney believed to be responsible for facilitating importations.

Mr Zucatto said the AFP's co-operation with Colombian, Peruvian and Tongan officials was critical in Operation Stair, highlighting the need for police to take the drug fight global.