Customs has released figures for the amount of pounamu it has seized at the border in the past decade.
The details come after the agency last month made its first successful prosecutions for illegal pounamu exporting, with a mother and son found guilty of trying to take unlawful quantities of the stone to China.
Customs shared the numbers with 1News, showing nearly 300 kilograms of pounamu have been intercepted leaving the country since 2016.
It is illegal to take more than 5kg of pounamu in its raw form out of the country without permission from the Customs Minister following advice from Ngāi Tahu – the sole kaitiaki of pounamu.
The biggest year for interceptions of the taonga by weight was 2024, when 81.2kg was seized in two busts at Auckland Airport. One of these intercepts was the 17.9 kilograms that Boyuan Zhang and his mother, Xin Li, were carrying in their luggage in July 2024. The duo await sentencing at the Manukau District Court on June 5.
Another significant bust was of 12 pieces, weighing 49.99kg, at Auckland Airport in 2016. The stones were found in a passenger's suitcase.
In total, officers seized 293.9kg of the precious stone across 17 incidents at airports and mail centres across the country between 2016 and 2025.
Customs told 1News the individual involved had applied for a review of the seizure, which was subsequently denied. The pounamu was forfeited to the Crown and returned to its rightful guardians, Poutini Ngāi Tahu.
The most seizures were made in 2025, with a total of six. Customs seized 11.98kg in two busts at Christchurch Airport, 18.59kg in two incidents at Auckland, and found 6.3kg at Auckland's Customs-controlled area.
'Unaware'
Customs said that most interceptions involved people who were "unaware of export restrictions".
"However, Customs treats all cases seriously and considers the appropriate enforcement response, which may include prosecution," a spokesperson said.
The agency said it was more common for pounamu to be found with travellers at airports rather than in international mail.
"However, both pathways are monitored, and Customs screens passengers, cargo and mail using a range of intelligence‑led and screening techniques to detect prohibited exports."
Prosecution "is an option" following seizures, with Customs assessing intercepts "on a case-by-case basis" in line with guidelines from the Solicitor General.
"This includes considering whether there is sufficient evidence, whether prosecution would be in the public interest, or whether alternative enforcement or compliance actions are more appropriate."
Every case is assessed on its merits, with the agency filing charges where "legal advice indicates the relevant tests are met, and prosecution is considered the most appropriate course of action".
Customs officers are trained to identify prohibited goods leaving the country, including pounamu. This is done through baggage searches, cargo and mail screening, intelligence‑led targeting, and information shared with partner agencies.
The agency works with iwi, police and other border agencies to stop the minerals leaving the country unlawfully. This is done through "joint intelligence work and coordinated enforcement action".
"Preventing the unlawful export of pounamu is a shared responsibility."
Police raids
Police have also ramped up their efforts with a crackdown on theft of the stone.
Last week, police raided several properties in central Otago and South Westland, recovering a tonne of allegedly stolen pounamu of "various sizes".
Three people - a 50-year-old man and two women from Tarras and the Jackson Bay area, aged 42 and 62 -were charged with theft and appeared in the Greymouth District Court this week.
In December 2025, a raid in Dunedin found 820kgs of allegedly stolen pounamu, and a 29-year-old was charged.
Earlier this month, 1News reported on concerns expressed by Ngāi Tahu about a growing black market.
The public can only fossick for pounamu on West Coast beaches and individuals are restricted to only taking what can be carried in one hand.
Ngāi Tahu whānau members are the only ones who can fossick rivers, but need a collection permit granted by the kaitiaki rūnanga (guardian).
Only the iwi can sell the mineral in its raw form.
The export prohibition does not apply to articles made from pounamu, such as jewellery, pendants or sculptures.
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