Drug rings recruiting students at top schools

Police believe Asian students are receiving dozens of parcels containing pseudoephedrine-based ContacNT cold tablets each month. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Asian crime syndicates are using foreign students in some of Auckland's best high schools to receive illegal shipments of the drugs used to produce methamphetamine.

Police believe the Asian students - known as "catchers" - are receiving dozens of parcels containing pseudoephedrine-based ContacNT cold tablets each month.

Pseudoephedrine is the base ingredient in methamphetamine, the drug group that includes P.

Police say about 30 packages containing ContacNT - often buried among items such as chocolate and noodles - were intercepted by Customs last month.

Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Cahill of the Auckland Metro drug squad said "at least that many, maybe more", could be coming into the country every month.

Students from high schools all over Auckland have been recruited. Their schools include Auckland Grammar, Takapuna Grammar, Mt Roskill Grammar and Avondale College

Ten students have been arrested in the past three months and are before the courts, and well over 100 have been caught receiving the drug shipments in the past five years.

The parcels are sent to New Zealand by Asian organised crime syndicates and contain up to 2kg of ContacNT, enough to make hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of methamphetamine.

Catchers are believed to receive up to $1000 for every parcel they receive.

"A kilogram sells for about $6000 and has the potential to make about $240,000 worth of methamphetamine," Mr Cahill said.

Customs investigations manager Mark Day said students and young people were being "used and victimised" as catchers.

He said officers found pseudoephedrine most weeks - often several times a week - mainly in mail coming from China.

The most common delivery method was for a "catcher" to wait outside a random address and intercept a courier, Mr Cahill said.

"Then there is no link to an address at all. That's why people further up the chain employ them, because then there is no link."

The catcher delivered the parcel to another "low-level organiser".

"Main importers insulate themselves from catchers," Mr Cahill said.

Most catchers were not aware of the risks they were taking.

ContacNT is legal in China, but it is a Class C drug in New Zealand and importing it carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison.

People on student visas could be deported if caught, and would probably have trouble getting into other countries.

Mr Cahill said young Asian males - mainly Chinese - had been used as "catchers" for years, but police were concerned by an "alarming increase" in the number of high school students being lured.

"A few years ago it was the international students, but now they are targeting high schools," he said.

"They are going to the younger ones now because they can convince them they won't get in as much trouble as the adults."

Students were often approached in gaming parlours, and were told that being a catcher was "relatively minor" and they would not be punished because of their age.

A 17-year-old Auckland Grammar student is to reappear in the Auckland District Court this month on charges of importing ContacNT and money laundering.

WHERE THE PILLS ARE SENT

* A student's home, addressed to him or a false name.

* Another address, where student waits for courier drop-off.

* A rented room where student collects mail.