A man has been sentenced to three years and nine-and-a-half months' in prison for importing material relating to child sexual abuse and bestiality.
Warning: Contains content about sexual offending against children and animals.
The 35-year-old arrived at Auckland International Airport on May 31, 2025 after spending more than a month overseas.
During a search, Customs officers found several electronic devices and multiple electronic storage devices in his possession.
When questioned about the child sexual exploitation material found on his mobile phone, he admitted downloading it. He was arrested by Customs officers for importing objectionable publications.
Any publication that promotes or supports the exploitation of children for sexual purposes was deemed an objectionable publication under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.
A total of 21,482 objectionable images and video files were located across six devices. Over 15,000 of these were child sexual exploitation material and about 40% of those fell into the most extreme categories of child sexual abuse involving children and infants.
He was sentenced in Auckland District Court yesterday.
Chief Customs officer on the child exploitation operations team, Simon Peterson, said this was one of the largest importations of objectionable publications ever seized at Auckland International Airport.
"Through advanced intelligence and close collaboration with our partners, Customs identified this individual as a person of interest in 2024. The moment he re-entered New Zealand in May, Customs officers interviewed and arrested him on site at the border," he said.
"The material he carried was deeply disturbing and included some of the most extreme child sexual abuse content known to law enforcement worldwide.
"Offending of this nature is never victimless. These are not simply illicit images or videos - they document real children being horrifically abused. Every time this material circulates, it perpetuates harm and trauma or those victims."
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