Cocaine is increasingly being smuggled into New Zealand along the same trafficking routes that have long carried methamphetamine, with one drug researcher flagging early signs of a growing market taking hold.
Massey University drug researcher Chris Wilkins said the shift was driven by a global glut, with cocaine manufacture up roughly four-fold since 2014, flooding traditional markets in Europe.
"There's so much cocaine available, and the manufacturers and traffickers are looking to maximise profits," he said.
Wilkins said New Zealand appeared to have been targeted as part of methamphetamine trafficking from Central America and Mexico, running via North America and the Pacific, with the groups behind it dealing in cocaine too.
"Increasingly, they can put cocaine into those shipments and, with New Zealand being a high-value market, then that makes sense," he said.
Four tonnes of cocaine, worth $1.5b on the street, was enroute to New Zealand when it was intercepted. (Source: 1News)
Customs investigations manager Dominic Adams said transnational organised crime groups are opportunistic and profit-driven with no loyalty to any single drug or route.
"They are not wedded to one drug type or one route — they will use whatever supply chains, concealment methods, and transit points they believe give them the best chance of moving illicit drugs and maximising profit," he said.
"That means routes used for methamphetamine can also be exploited for cocaine where criminal groups see an opportunity."
Adams said methamphetamine remains the dominant illicit drug threat but cocaine volumes have risen in recent years, and Customs adapted its targeting, intelligence and enforcement activity as criminal methods changed.
Wilkins said Pacific smuggling routes are becoming entrenched as island nations struggle to cut them off.
"They have limited enforcement resources themselves and their governance systems and limited capacity to address organised crime," he said.
"For organised crime, it's good to be in those situations where you are in an area with low governance, and you can establish yourself, and that gives you a good stepping off point into the Oceania market."
Adams said NZ Customs collaborates with partners in Australia and the Pacific through intelligence-sharing, joint targeting and offshore disruption, aiming to stop drugs before they reach the border.
The scale of seizures is on the increase too.
In 2022, Operation Bask uncovered 725kg of cocaine hidden in a container of bananas at the Port of Tauranga, shipped from Ecuador via Panama.
Then in 2023, Operation Hydros – a joint effort between Police, Customs and the Defence Force – recovered 3.2 tonnes of cocaine floating in the Pacific Ocean, with an estimated street value of about $500 million.
In February this year, a joint Pacific operation seized 4.2 tonnes of cocaine in French Polynesia, with an estimated street value of approximately $1.5 billion.
Marketed to the affluent first
Research shows 42% of cocaine users earn more than $80,000 a year, and most are in full-time work - a world away from the image many associate with illicit drug use.
Cocaine is an emerging product in the New Zealand market, Wilkins said, compared to methamphetamine which is deep into the mature stage of its product cycle, with a long trail of negative health consequences and public awareness to match.
He said cocaine offers a product that doesn't have the same negative aura and stigma as methamphetamine "In fact, the opposite. It's seen as a kind of glamorous, Hollywood type drug," he said.
The drug's short duration is seen as being part of its appeal. "They want to go back to their families, go back to their jobs after having this party and be real functional."
Cocaine is listed as a Class A drug in New Zealand, meaning it has a very high risk of harm to people misusing it. The maximum punishment for possession is a six month jail sentence, while the penalty for supply can be life in jail.
The NZ Drug Foundation describes the drug as a stimulant, speeding up brain and body functions. While this can make people feel energetic, alert and euphoric, it can also make them feel anxious, sweaty and increase their heart rate.
The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA) says one of the risks of stimulants is safety in workplaces due to their impact on decision making.
Wilkins said wastewater testing showed cocaine use climbing from a very low base, and the New Zealand Drug Trends Survey has found availability growing throughout the country rather than only in the main centres.
Price and potency will be the next indicators, he said, with cheaper and stronger product pointing to a firmer supply chain.
Wilkins said Australia was seeing the same thing, with a larger established cocaine market and wastewater testing showing climbing use there too.
"The markets of Australia and New Zealand combined were probably quite attractive to traffickers," he said.
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