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You wouldnt know it but te FBI Director was in town:
FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to New Zealand this week to open a dedicated law enforcement attaché office in Wellington. While the FBI has stationed personnel in New Zealand for several years, establishing a full Legat position in the country will strengthen and enhance the longstanding cooperation with a key Five Eyes partner in the southwestern Pacific region.
“The FBI has had a strong relationship and collaborated closely with our counterparts in New Zealand for years,” said Director Patel. “Expanding the Wellington office demonstrates the strength and evolution of our partnership as we continue to work together to address our shared security objectives in the region.”
The FBI collaborates with international law enforcement partners through a network of offices worldwide which are established through mutual agreement with the host country. Wellington was originally established in 2017 as a suboffice of the Canberra, Australia Legat. This new upgraded office will continue to work with our New Zealand partners to address shared priority areas through joint investigations, information sharing, and capacity-building. It will work to investigate and disrupt a wide range of threats and criminal activities including terrorism, cybercrime and fraud, organized crime and money laundering, child exploitation, and foreign intelligence threats. It will have responsibility for partnerships in New Zealand, Antarctica, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands, and Tonga.
Tackling these challenges demands close collaboration and trust, and our existing partnerships in New Zealand have already delivered notable successes. Together the New Zealand Police and FBI worked to investigate and disrupt a wide range of criminal activities, and these joint efforts have included investigations related to:
During his visit, Director Patel also met with key government representatives, including Minister Collins, Minister Mitchell, Minister Peters, Police Commissioner Chambers, Director General Hampton, and Director General Clark. Throughout his engagements, Director Patel emphasized the strong relationship and close collaboration between the FBI and our New Zealand counterparts and discussed new opportunities to expand our partnerships
About Five Eyes: The Five Eyes is a partnership of five countries: the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It grew from the 1946 BRUSA agreement, shortly after the end of World War II, to share intelligence and coordinate security efforts. The five member countries have a long history of trust and cooperation, and they share a commitment to common values.
Meanwhile this from the Government:
The FBI’s upgrade of its Wellington office demonstrates the strength of the Five Eyes partnership and enhances the safety and security of New Zealanders, the Minister Responsible for the GCSB and NZSIS Judith Collins and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say.
The Ministers met with FBI Director Kash Patel, who officially opened the new Wellington office at the US Embassy earlier today and installed a permanent Legat position.
“We exchanged a range of insights on areas such as trans-national organised crime, counter-terrorism, cyber-security and espionage,” Ms Collins says.
“NZSIS and GCSB relationships with overseas partners like the FBI, as well as their support to New Zealand Police, are an important part of how the intelligence agencies deliver on their mission to keep New Zealand safe and secure.”
Mr Mitchell says Director Patel’s visit should send a clear message to criminals whose offending causes harm in our communities, wherever they are, that they cannot hide behind an international border.
“New Zealand Police are continually working with their overseas counterparts like the FBI to catch those engaged in illegal, harmful activities such as drug smuggling and online child exploitation, as well disrupting and preventing this offending from happening in the first place,” he says.
“Police are part of a global effort on law enforcement. Director Patel’s visit was an excellent opportunity to share our common concerns while reinforcing the importance of New Zealand and the US working together to protect our citizens.”
Director Patel is the most senior member of the US administration to visit New Zealand since the start of President Trump’s second term in office.
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