Customs arrests trio for smuggling nearly half a million cigarettes

Some of the illegally-imported cigarettes seized by Customs from three Malaysian nations. Photo / Customs

By RNZ

Three Malaysian nationals are due to appear in an Auckland court today, accused of smuggling almost 500,000 cigarettes into New Zealand and evading $675,000 in tobacco taxes.

The two men and one woman have been charged with defrauding Customs revenue, importing prohibited goods, and making erroneous Customs entries.

Customs started investigating after a New Zealand company discovered its address had been used on import documents without staff knowledge.

Customs linked the import to three Malaysians who had arrived in the country as visitors a few weeks earlier.

Further investigations showed the men had falsified import documents by using the names of legitimate companies and directing tobacco shipments to a residential address and storage unit in Auckland, Customs said.

Customs said they found two consignments with a total of 481,640 cigarettes, representing approximately $675,000 in tax revenue.

The trio were due to appear at the North Shore District Court today.

Chief Customs officer for fraud, Nigel Barnes, said officials had ramped up tobacco seizures and arrests in recent years.

“Illicit tobacco is not a victimless crime. It takes money out of our communities and puts it into the pockets of criminals. As this case shows, we are onto them, and will take every step to ensure they face the consequences,” Barnes said.

Customs received $10.4 million of funding in last year’s Budget to combat illicit tobacco importation.