Two shoe drug smugglers plead guilty

Mark Day from Customs with part of the $10 million haul of methamphetamine found in travellers' shoes. Photo / Greg Bowker

Two of the 10 Malaysians who were busted at the New Zealand border with about $10 million of methamphetamine in their shoes have pleaded guilty.

Each of them was found to be hiding between 800g and 1kg of the drug in the soles of their shoes when they arrived at Auckland International Airport in April.

Eng Hin Ong, 39, and Waihong Leong, 23, pleaded guilty to importation charges when they appeared in Manukau District Court yesterday.

Another of the accused, Ewe Hoe Ong, 40, has previously pleaded guilty.

The three will appear in the High Court at Auckland in September for sentencing. The other seven accused will appear in Manukau District Court on August 3.

It was the biggest number of drug couriers caught in a single incident at the New Zealand border, said Customs drug investigations manager Mark Day. Officers searched the bags of two of the group and then referred them for a personal search.

Methamphetamine was found in their shoes.

After the two were searched, the remainder of the group was searched. They were also found to have the drug in their shoes.

- NZPA