$100m meth disguised as concrete
Seven people have been arrested in Auckland after allegedly attempting to import more than $100 million worth of methamphetamine, disguised as concrete.
The drugs were mixed with the construction material gypsum and hidden inside the base of 16 outdoor umbrella stands.
The stands were shipped from China by sea in August 2017.
They were part of a 1.4-tonne consignment declared as ‘‘outdoor leisure products’’, including swings, slides, a furniture set and garden lights.
Examinations by Customs staff revealed the methamphetamine.
Customs and police said the methamphetamine was ‘‘reasonably pure’’.
It weighed between 100-120kg and had a street value of about $100m-$120m.
Customs investigations manager Bruce Berry said the new way to disguise meth was ‘‘difficult to detect’’.
Syndicates were continually evolving, and this one was ’’very sophisticated’’, he said.
The operation, dubbed Operation Abseil, saw a person of interest identified travelling to New Zealand last year.
From that Customs were able to ‘‘build a picture’’ using intelligence profiling to get this consignment, he said.
Berry said Customs believed the company involved was set up with the specific purpose of smuggling methamphetamine, and people travelled to New Zealand solely to assist in the extraction process.
The effort that went into concealment was ‘‘upper level’’.
‘‘This was designed to defeat law enforcement,’’ he said.
‘‘It shows a complexity that is really challenging for us in terms of finding it, let alone anything else, but our methods proved successful in this case.’’
More than a tonne of methamphetamine and its precursors were seized by Customs last year, he said.
‘‘New Zealand is a lucrative market for drugs, and until we deal with the supply side of that market we won’t win.’’
Search warrants were carried out in Auckland in the past week. Six men and one woman, aged between 36 and 65, faced charges for the importation and possession for supply of a Class A controlled drug. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
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