Nearly 50kg of cocaine – valued at around $16.8 million – stashed in the lining of a refrigerated container has been seized at the Port of Tauranga.
New Zealand Customs officers were recently searching a refrigerated container containing legitimate goods from Balboa in Panama when the discovery was made.
Customs said 48kg of the Class A drug was hidden within the insulated lining of the container's roof.
"Unlike the 'rip-on, rip-off' method where drugs are concealed inside the container, these drugs were hidden between the inner ceiling and the top of the container in the insulated roof lining," Customs said.
Customs group manager maritime Paul Campbell said transnational and serious organised criminal groups were using increasingly complex methods to conceal drugs to be smuggled across the border.
"This method of concealment signals the lengths crime groups are going to in attempting to move drugs through the supply chain," Campbell said.
"It reflects a deliberate effort to exploit commercial pathways and reinforces that while we are making it harder for them, we must constantly evolve how we detect and disrupt these threats.
"Customs will continue to apply sustained pressure at the maritime border and is committed to making New Zealand’s seaports a hostile environment for criminal networks."
Industry workers and members of the public were urged to "remain vigilant and help play a part in stopping organised crime".
Suspicions about potential drug smuggling could be reported confidentially to 0800 WE PROTECT (0800 937 768) or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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