New Zealand Customs officers are to work with law enforcement agencies in the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) after announcing their biggest ever methamphetamine seizure.
A 20-year-old Hong Kong passport-holder appeared in the Auckland District Court Friday on a charge relating to his role in attempting to smuggle 176 kilograms of methamphetamine into New Zealand.
The drugs had a potential street value of 176 million NZ dollars (125.42 million U.S. dollars), said a statement from the New Zealand Customs service Friday.
The record meth seizure was the result of a 16-month investigation after Customs identified a company believed to have been set up in June 2015 to smuggle methamphetamine.
In July 2016, Customs officers intercepted 10 shipping containers sent to the company from China, with multiple meth packages found hidden within the containers' doors.
Further investigations linked the shipment to the Hong Kong man, who was arrested following two search warrants in Auckland in early October, where further evidence of his involvement was found.
Customs group manager intelligence, investigations and enforcement Jamie Bamford said the seizure showed Customs could make a dent in the methamphetamine supply chain, and continued to use intelligence to target shipments before they arrived.
"Customs remains focused on disrupting transnational smuggling through our role at the border and dismantling the criminal syndicates involved. This operation is ongoing, and we are not ruling out further arrests," Bamford said in the statement.
"This seizure will have prevented New Zealand's criminal gangs from profiting from the misery caused by pushing meth through our cities and rural communities."
"As with all our investigations, we will also liaise with our overseas customs counterparts for follow-up investigations in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong," Bamford said.
The Hong Kong man's next appearance was scheduled for Nov. 17 in the Auckland District Court.
