Roughly $250 million worth of methamphetamine hidden in maple syrup has been seized at the border in what police are describing as an "elaborate scheme".
The international drug operation has been "upended" after work by authorities here, in Australia and Canada.
It comes after a shipment of maple syrup from Canada was intercepted in January. It was found to be concealing 713kg of methamphetamine.
Police say it could have caused $800 million in social harm.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said it was the largest intersection of meth ever seen at the border.
"The international drug trade and organised crime groups are creating havoc and harm in communities around the globe, and our best opportunity to disrupt, intercept, and keep our communities safe, is to work collaboratively with other agencies and other nations," he said.
"This seizure of nearly three-quarters of a tonne shows the effectiveness of working across borders."
"Had this shipment been distributed across New Zealand it would have caused immense harm to the vulnerable communities these criminal groups were preying upon," Coster said.
Six men aged between 22 and 45 have been arrested in relation to the seizure.
Five of those arrested were taken into custody in February after a property in Auckland's Helensville was raided. The men had allegedly taken possession of the bulk of the shipment.
A sixth man was arrested when he sought to take possession of the remaining shipment.
All six are set to reappear before the North Shore and Auckland district courts.
Police worked with Customs, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police on the operation, dubbed Regis.
New Zealand Customs comptroller Christine Stevenson said the organisation has seen an increase in large-scale drug smuggling attempts at the border.
"It points to the determination of these criminals to peddle their harm in our communities for their own personal wealth and at the expense of our communities, regardless of the damage to social, health and wider economic well-being," she said.
"This seizure, along with other large seizures over the past 12 months, shows that New Zealand Customs and our partners remain ready and able to intercept a significant proportion of the drugs these criminal groups try to smuggle here."
Stevenson offered a message to any potential drug smugglers in the future.
"Our message to transnational organised crime is that we are aware of what they are doing, how they are doing it, and we will use the combined resources of New Zealand Customs and our partner agencies here in New Zealand and around the world to stop them and hit the profits they try to extract from our communities and our economy."
In Australia, authorities seized a three-tonne shipment of methamphetamine, smuggled in 18 pallets of canola oil.
It is believed those responsible for that shipment are allegedly behind the staggering amount of meth that was seized in NZ earlier this year.
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