Tauranga police on alert for fugitives

Tauranga police are on alert for a couple who skipped bail while facing serious drug charges.

Several possible sightings of Jian Zhong Xie, 36, and Hong Quin Huang, 34, were reported there on Thursday afternoon and yesterday, the latest in Mt Maunganui.

The pair, who face charges of importing enough cold medicine to manufacture $15 million of meth-amphetamine, have drained their bank accounts and are thought to be trying to slip out of New Zealand.

Sightings from Wednesday in Whakatane show that Huang has altered her appearance from a photo published in the Herald this week.
"The woman now has shorter hair, shoulder-length," Detective Sergeant Mark Osbourne said.

He said Xie looked the same, adding: "We believe they are still in the Bay of Plenty region."

Tauranga is home to a busy port and border authorities have been warned that the couple may be waiting for false passports before trying to escape on a container ship.

Detective Sergeant Osbourne said a sighting in a Tauranga supermarket on Thursday afternoon was the most credible recent one. Others included one at a store carpark in the Bayfair area of Mt Maunganui early yesterday.

The couple are believed to be driving a silver Toyota Previa shuttle van or similar "people mover" vehicle with a sunroof.