KEY POINTS:
Two Chinese nationals charged with conspiring to supply $8 million worth of drugs imported in water filters went on trial in the High Court at Wellington today.
Xiaohui Huang, 26, and Chun Yu Ng, 24, have both been charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply and conspiring to supply the drug.
Ng has also been charged with being a party to the importation of methamphetamine.
With the aid of two translators, they both pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Crown is calling 46 witness during the trail before Justice Denis Clifford, which is expected to continue until Tuesday next week.
Crown prosecutor Kenneth Stone told the jury of eight women and four men that police and customs officials had intercepted a courier parcel from China at Auckland Airport on January 22 last year.
The parcel contained shrink-wrapped packages of water filters, some of which had 8.193kg of methamphetamine packed inside.
The drug had a street value of about $8 million, Mr Stone said.
Police replaced all but 19 grams of the drug with a harmless white powder, and delivered it on January 25 to its destination in Miramar, Wellington, where Ng accepted the package.
A search of the Miramar house when Ng was out revealed he had only opened the packages which contained the drug, Mr Stone said.
Police also found Ng's cell phone number had been printed on the courier instructions for the parcel's delivery.
Mr Stone said Huang became involved later, flying to Wellington on January 27, renting a safe and collecting a bag from Ng.
She also rented a room at a Wellington hotel where police found the drugs and the harmless white powder and a set of scales, which had been at the house in Miramar, Mr Stone said.
Huang told police she had been paid $2000 by a man called Mark in Auckland to fly to Wellington and collect the package, which she said she did not know contained drugs.
Mr Stone said it was "simply unbelievable" Ng and Huang did not know they were dealing with drugs.
The case continues.
- NZPA
