Latest news with #NZCustoms
RNZ News
3 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
69kg of drugs seized at Auckland Airport
Customs officers at Auckland Airport seized nearly 70 kgs of drugs in two separate incidents. Photo: Supplied/ NZ Customs Drugs with an estimated street value of nearly $26 million have been seized in two separate incidents at Auckland Airport. Customs say in the first case, officers found 50kg of methamphetamine inside two unaccompanied duffel bags, which arrived on a flight from Malaysia. And the bag of a passenger arriving from New York contained nearly 18kg of methamphetamine and 1kg of cocaine. A 22-year-old man faces drugs charges in relation to the bag from New York. "Both these seizures were the result of the excellent skills of our frontline officers who recognised tell-tale signs that prompted further investigations and turned up these significant quantities of illegal drugs," said Customs' Acting Manager Auckland Airport Donnelle Nicholson. Nicholson said officers had stopped about half a tonne of illicit drugs from entering New Zealand so far this year, which was significant and concerning. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
23-05-2025
- Sport
- 1News
Surf lifesaving veteran banned for importing prohibited substances
A veteran surf lifesaving athlete has been banned from all sport for three years by the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand for possessing and trafficking multiple banned substances. NZ Customs intercepted a parcel addressed to Morgan Foster on September 30 last year which contained tesamorelin, ipamorelin, BPC-157 and TB-500. These substances were a mixture of peptides — substances that increase growth hormone secretion and experimental substances. Foster, who had competed in at least 28 Surf Lifesaving Championships, admitted he had purchased the substances and breached anti-doping rules. A sanction of three years' ineligibility was imposed, based on Foster's early admission and the low level of seriousness of the trafficking violation. Sports Integrity Commission general counsel Paul O'Neil said it was "disappointing" for an athlete to import banned substances, especially when the intention was to distribute them to a third party. "The misuse of banned substances can have serious health consequences for those who use them. That's why the Sports Anti-Doping Rules exist, to protect those who play sport and ensure a level-playing field." Surf Life Saving NZ general sport manager Zac Franich also said the organisation was "disappointed to hear one of our members was found to have violated World Anti-Doping Agency rules". "A fair playing field is a foundation of all sporting competitions, and we accept the findings reached by the Sports Tribunal."
The Spinoff
07-05-2025
- The Spinoff
Illegal cigarette smuggling man: an appreciation
New Zealand has lost its mojo. Maybe it could learn something from a man who strapped 1,620 cigarettes inside his pants and said 'today is the day I walk through an airport'. Sometimes a single image can change you. Carl Sagan grasped our cosmic insignificance more profoundly after seeing Pale Blue Dot. Millions of children were permanently traumatised at the sight of Simba trying to wake Mufasa up in The Lion King. On Monday, a similarly impactful image was released on the social media accounts of the New Zealand Customs Service. It showed a 35-year-old Indonesian man with 1,620 cigarettes stuffed under his white singlet. Customs said this man was detained at Wellington airport when officers somehow identified him as being in possession of more than the 50 cigarettes you're legally allowed to bring into the country. Its accompanying photo raises a plethora of existential questions. Chief among them is 'how does one man get 1,620 cigarettes inside his singlet?'. With some difficulty, it seems. The man's entire lower torso is a clown car of cigs. His trousers are straining at the sheer volume of nicotine they're being asked to contain. Several packets protrude from the side of his clothing. Furthermore, how did NZ Customs manage to catch this smuggler despite his sophisticated efforts at concealment? In a statement to The Spinoff, it said its officers spotted signs of the tobacco inside the man's 'choice of clothing', without elaborating further. Those officers must have been alert and eagle-eyed, because the organisation also confirmed his cigarettes originated in Jakarta. That means by the time he was apprehended, the smuggler had already transited through Indonesian Customs and transferred onto another flight bound from Sydney to New Zealand, all without anyone realising he had nearly 2,000 cigarettes stuffed into his belt. All up, the durries snuck 8,000km, past hundreds of fellow travellers and security personnel, only to come to a halt literally metres from finding a new life on the streets of the Miramar Peninsula. Though it didn't provide much other information, NZ Customs did furnish The Spinoff with an extra photo, which reveals both the cig man's brand of choice, and method of transportation. Its statement adds that the man had previously entered the country to work on New Zealand-flagged fishing vessels. He will no longer be allowed to do so. His Work to Residence visa has been cancelled due to the 'crime' of stuffing $2,447.38 worth of cigs into his pants. That's a shame, because New Zealand is desperately short of ambition. It's trying to plug a budget hole by taking money off low-paid women. Our prime minister is stumbling through farm fields trying to relocate our lost mojo. Where's the go-get-em attitude that propelled Richie McChayaw to the top of Mt Everest? The underdog spirit that saw us become the first country in the world to throw a nine-inch penis-shaped dog toy at a minister of the Crown? Maybe, just maybe, we detained it under the angry eagles at the Wellington domestic terminal. Perhaps the reservoir of confidence we're seeking is with the man who looked into the mirror with 1,620 cigarettes protruding from his trousers and said 'today is the day I fly to New Zealand'. As Steve Jobs once said, here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round cigs in the square holes, because they're the ones who'll change the world. So shine on, you crazy 35-year-old cig-covered diamond. Sorry you won't be subject to potential exploitation on a camera-free fishing vessel near Antarctica anymore. But if there's one thing this has proved, it's that even with the odds stacked against you, you'll find a way to get through.
1News
28-04-2025
- 1News
Ninety kilos of meth lands at Auckland Airport in under 12 hours
Customs have seized a combined total of more than 90 kilograms of methamphetamine found in abandoned bags on two inbound flights in under 12 hours at Auckland International Airport over the weekend. The first intercept occurred after a flight from Malaysia which landed around midnight on April 26. Customs officers identified two bags containing 50.2 kilograms of methamphetamine. "The bags contained four smaller duffle bags, each with individually wrapped packages of methamphetamine," a statement from Customs said. 40.5 kilograms was uncovered in two backpacks abandoned on a flight from Los Angeles. (Source: NZ Customs) ADVERTISEMENT The second intercept was off a flight from Los Angeles early in the morning of April 27. Border agencies identified two backpacks and referred them to Customs who found 40.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. The seized methamphetamine was estimated to have a combined street value of up to $34 million and could have caused up to $95 million in potential harm and cost to New Zealand. An investigation to identify those responsible for the abandoned luggage items was ongoing, Customs said. Customs Auckland Airport manager Paul Williams said it was "rapid, skilled work" undertaken by staff "who know exactly what to look for". "They acted immediately, intercepted the suspicious bags, and shut down what would have been a significant shipment of methamphetamine reaching into our communities." Williams said preventing organised crime from profiting by harming New Zealanders was an "absolute priority" for Customs. ADVERTISEMENT The Customs team has seized an estimated 405.69 kilograms of drugs across couriers and baggage at Auckland International Airport this year.
NZ Herald
28-04-2025
- NZ Herald
Auckland Airport Customs staff seize $34 million of methamphetamine within 12 hours
The second seizure occurred early on Sunday morning. Border staff identified two backpacks and referred them to Customs. Officers searched the bags and found 40.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. NZ Customs estimated these two seizures of methamphetamine would have had a street value of up to $34 million and caused up to $95 million in potential harm and cost to New Zealand. Auckland Airport customs manager Paul Williams said this mass seizure was thanks to the 'sharp actions' of Customs officers and border partners and reaffirmed their unrelenting focus on border security. 'This was rapid, skilled work by officers who know exactly what to look for,' he said. 'They acted immediately, intercepted the suspicious bags, and shut down what would have been a significant shipment of methamphetamine reaching into our communities.' 'Preventing organised crime from profiting by harming New Zealanders is an absolute priority for Customs,' Williams said. 'Not only are our officers highly trained and always on the lookout for suspicious activity, but they do not work in isolation. 'Our job is clear: stop illicit drugs before they reach our streets.' Since the beginning of 2025, the Customs team at Auckland International Airport has seized an estimated 405.69kg of drugs across couriers and baggage. Auckland Airport staff seized more than 23kg of methamphetamine and cocaine in unaccompanied bags off a flight from Honolulu Last month, officers seized more than 36kg of methamphetamine in unaccompanied bags from a US flight.
