Cocaine bust: Five duffle bags with $30m worth of illicit drug found in Auckland business

• Five duffle bags with cocaine worth nearly $30 million were found at a Mt Wellington business.
• Police and Customs are investigating the container’s movements and destination after its transit through Central America.
• No arrests have been made; Police urge anyone with information to contact them.

Five duffel bags stacked with bricks of cocaine valued at close to $30m have been discovered at an Auckland business.

Police said they were called to a Mt Wellington premises on Carbine Rd yesterday, after a worker unloading a shipping container of building materials found the bags.

Auckland City CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Anthony Darvill said more than 75 packages of cocaine wrapped in cellophane were located in the duffel bags.

Five duffle bags stacked with bricks of cocaine valued at close to $30 million have been unpacked at a Mount Wellington business. Photo / NZ Police

“An investigation between police and customs is now under way following yesterday’s seizure.

“The joint investigation will focus on the movements of the container and its eventual destination,” he said.

“What we do know is that the container transited through Central America in late March 2025 on its way to New Zealand,” Darvill said.

Five duffle bags stacked with bricks of cocaine valued at close to $30 million have been unpacked at a Mount Wellington business. Photo / NZ Police

No arrests have been made, and at this stage police said they were not releasing any further details as investigations remain ongoing.

Customs’ acting investigations manager Rachael Manning said the border control agency was committed to working in collaboration with police to play their part in preventing drugs from reaching communities where they caused significant social harm.

If you have any information that may assist the police in identifying and locating those involved in the supply of drugs or organised criminal groups you can report information to the police via 105 if it’s after the fact or 111 if it is happening now.

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