Customs has already prosecuted as many people crossing New Zealand borders with objectionable material in the first half of this year as all of last year.
In the first six months of 2026, 15 people have been charged with importing or exporting offences involving objectionable publications, among other related charges.
This is the same as the number of arrests made in the whole of 2025.
Customs' latest prosecution involved the conviction and jailing of a 30-year-old Auckland man after hundreds of files depicting the sexual abuse of real children and infants were found on his phone.
The man was arrested at Auckland Airport in February 2025, following a trip to Australia. Customs had identified him as a risk for online child sexual abuse material offending.
A total of 385 files depicting child sexual abuse were found in an app on his phone.
He was charged with importing objectionable publications.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including several dead in a shooting in Germany and what have you left behind in an Uber? (Source: Breakfast)
Further forensic analysis of his phone found that, since 2020, he had used multiple online accounts to store and share 754 objectionable files.
Customs said "all but one" showed the sexual abuse of real children.
Some of the "distressing" videos, which totalled around 33 hours of footage, involved infants.
At the Manukau District Court yesterday, the man was jailed for three years and seven months. He was automatically registered as a child sex offender.
"Anyone intercepted moving such material across our borders, whether physically on devices or via the internet, should not be mistaken for being caught merely in possession of undesirable material: these are real children being terribly abused," Chief Customs Officer Simon Peterson said.
"Importing or exporting child sexual abuse material across our borders contributes significantly to the global proliferation of this deeply troubling offending.
"This re-victimises those vulnerable children in the material who suffered the recorded abuse, and creates a sinister demand for more material, and more victims."
SHARE ME