Drug imports soaring: report

Only about 20 per cent of illegal drugs imported into New Zealand is detected by Customs, says a report by the National Drug Intelligence Bureau.

The confidential report, released to 3 News, showed that for every drug haul made by Customs, five crossed the border.

Customs' interceptions of Contac NT, a Chinese cold medicine used to make methamphetamine, have risen by 1200 per cent in the past five years. But about 10 million tablets a year, or 2 per cent of China's total Contac NT production, were sent to New Zealand, enough to produce 630kg of methamphetamine.

- NZPA