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New Zealand authorities have supported American law enforcement in preventing almost 200kg of methamphetamine reaching transtasman borders.
Over a 12-month period the joint international task force, led by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and consisting of Homeland Security investigations and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), identified a drug-trafficking organisation and collected evidence.
Almost 200kg of meth heading to New Zealand and Australia was seized and five arrests were made in the US.
“This result is an excellent example of the United States’ work to disrupt transnational crime cells, supported by New Zealand and Australian authorities,” said security and international police liaison Inspector Paul Newman.
“New Zealand police and Customs provided intelligence that further assisted US authorities in building their case against the alleged offenders.”
NZ police and Customs have liaison officers based in the US, whose role it is to form partnerships with local law enforcement.
These partnerships bridge the jurisdictional gap between law enforcement and connect investigators from both countries.
“New Zealand and Australian drug users pay big money for harmful drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine, and this makes it attractive for drug trafficking organisations in the US to send drugs to our countries,” Newman said.
“It is clear that criminals have become connected to take advantage of this and to counter this transnational threat, law enforcement has done the same. We consistently share intelligence on criminal groups operating out of both countries, which continues to have good results.”
Customs investigations manager Dominic Adams added that targeting overseas-based drug trafficking organisations closer to the source is a more effective way to cause maximum impact.
“While there is a lot of profit to be made by supplying drugs to New Zealand, we would like to become as unattractive as possible.
Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug that is most often smoked using a glass pipe. Photo / NZME
“We have been working with our US counterparts for many years now, with our collaboration and success growing from strength to strength,” Adams said.
In a statement, police said seizures at the US border destined for New Zealand have been increasing annually.
In reports provided to NZ Customs, US authorities seized about 1102kg of “border-controlled drugs”, including 1087kg of meth, heading to New Zealand in 2023.
This included a single shipment of approximately 265kg of meth stopped in March last year.
A subsequent Homeland Security investigation led to the arrest of a US man, while a similar concurrent investigation in New Zealand by police and Customs identified five people, who have since been charged and are currently before the courts.
“These results would not be possible without close collaboration between law enforcement in both countries. Intelligence sharing is key to enable us to understand and tackle the criminal environment.”
“For New Zealand, these arrests and seizures have prevented significant profits being made by organised crime and have also prevented considerable harm. We will continue to work alongside our international partners to ensure that those involved in this activity are held responsible for their offending,” Newman said.
