Source: Radio New Zealand
Thirty-three kilograms of cocaine were seized at the Port of Tauranga. Supplied NZ Customs
Thirty-three kilograms of cocaine – with a street value of around $11.5 million – were seized at the Port of Tauranga on November 20.
Customs said the drugs were found in refrigerated containers on a vessel that had originated from Ecuador, and transited through Balboa, Panama, before arriving in Tauranga.
Customs officers inspected the containers after an x-ray screening of the containers and found anomalies which led to a physical inspection of the containers and their contents.
Seventeen bricks of cocaine were found in one container, and 16 in the other, hidden among legitimate goods.
Customs couldn’t confirm if the two seizures were related.
Customs’ maritime manager Robert Smith said advanced risk assessment and screening technologies, and the expertise of frontline officers are hitting organised crime groups and protecting communities.
He said Customs’ focus at New Zealand seaports is disrupting criminal networks and making it harder for organised crime to exploit our maritime border and legitimate trade supply routes and shipments.
Smith said the cooperation between Police, port companies and industry partners is “an unwelcoming and problematic environment for transnational, serious and organised crime to do business.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
