Source: Radio New Zealand
Approximately $500,000 in cash was seized during the search warrants. Supplied / NZ Police
A long-running police investigation has exposed a syndicate operating a drug importation and distribution network through the dark web.
Operation Solana, led by the National Organised Crime Group, had been ongoing for the last nine months looking at the alleged importation and distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and ketamine.
It led to 16 search warrants being carried out across Auckland and Hamilton on Thursday and Friday.
Police arrested 11 people and seized drugs and cash.
Cocaine seized during search warrants as part of Operation Solana. Supplied / NZ Police
Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Hunt, from the National Organised Crime Group, said police would allege the group used dark web markets, encrypted messaging applications, and cryptocurrency services to obscure their identities and financial flows.
The drugs were being sent to New Zealand from the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA.
Hunt said the investigation started after a local syndicate was found using anonymous online marketplaces to carry out illegal activities.
Customs and overseas law enforcement agencies from USA, Australian Border Force, and Europe seized in excess of 200 kilograms of these controlled drugs at their borders destined for this syndicate, Hunt said.
A 3D-printed firearm was found during search warrants as part of Operation Solana. Supplied / NZ Police
Approximately $500,000 in cash had been seized during the search warrants along with guns, including a 3D printed one.
Eleven people, aged between 24 and 42, were expected in the Auckland District Court and Hamilton District Court on Friday facing charges of importing, possessing and supplying class A, B and C drugs, unlawful possessions of firearms and participating in an organised criminal group.
“Offending on the dark web is not invisible,” Hunt said.
“Police are increasingly equipped to identify and dismantle criminal enterprises that believe they can hide behind technology and encryption.
“These arrests send a clear message: if you are importing or dealing drugs through the dark web, we will find you, and we will hold you to account.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
