Over 2400 drug parcels seized
Cannabis seeds, MDMA packages, and the aphrodisiac Spanish fly are among the more than 2400 small drug parcels stopped at the border in the past year.
Customs has recorded the minor seizures as part of ‘‘Project Loco’’, in which police are notified of drug packages that aren’t large enough to necessarily warrant further investigation.
But the small packages, which contain ‘‘grams as opposed to kilograms’’ of drugs, can still lead to a knock on the importer’s door, or prosecution.
Customs intelligence manager Wei-Jiat Tan said the variety and quantity of drugs coming through the international mail centre — the primary point of entry — was increasing.
‘‘I would attribute some of that
the growth of online
to marketplaces like the dark net.’’
Among the 2405 shipments captured by Project Loco were almost 1700 cannabis products, more than 300 packages of MDMA, more than 50 of LSD, and more than 40 of cocaine.
Cannabis seeds were the most common cannabis-related interceptions.
The data for the year ending June, provided under the Official Information Act, show Tauranga was the busiest for seizures of this scale, with 650 in total.
Northern, which includes much of the upper North Island, received 546 shipments. Wellington followed at 437.
Christchurch was not counted in the data, but Customs said the region averaged 10 parcels captured a month.
‘‘As you can appreciate, it won’t be all of it ... It’s very difficult, at the moment, to kind of talk about exactly how much might be getting through,’’ Tan said.
In July, Customs Minister Jenny Salesa announced the agency had seized more than 1016kg of drugs so far in 2019.
Salesa was concerned four times more ecstasy (407kg) had been seized than all of last year, and that the 434kg of methamphetamine seized was more than the record amount of 427kg methamphetamine seized in 2017.
Tan said seizures at the border were increasing due to transnational organised crime groups growing in sophistication.
‘‘You know, we’re seeing the advent of not just Asian organised crime, but Mexican cartels as well.’’
It is unclear how many investigations or prosecutions have followed from Project Loco.
requested this information from police under the Official Information Act.
A police media spokeswoman said no-one was available for comment on Project Loco.