A man has been jailed for more than three years over a trade-based money laundering scheme where a second-hand vehicle and parts business was used to move and hide drug money.
The 46-year-old has been sentenced in Auckland after a Customs investigation uncovered the operation.
Between November 2020 and April 2024, cash linked to drug crime was used to buy vehicles and parts in New Zealand before being shipped to Nigeria.
A total of 101 shipments were exported to Nigeria, where they were sold and the proceeds deposited into an overseas business account.
The man also made false export declarations that understated the value of the vehicles. In some cases, these incorrectly recorded vehicle manufacturing years.
During the investigation, 12 packages bound for New Zealand containing about 22.6kg of methamphetamine and 34g of cocaine were seized.
The man also transferred $459,600 to Nigerian bank accounts and a raid at his home uncovered at least $100,000 in cash.
He pleaded guilty to three money laundering charges and one representative charge of knowingly providing false export information.
Today, in the Auckland District Court, he was sentenced to three years-and four months’ imprisonment.
Acting Customs Investigations Manager Nigel Barnes said the investigation exposed an "international cycle of offending, involving drugs destined for New Zealand, criminal funds used to buy goods here, vehicles and parts exported to Nigeria, and the proceeds deposited into overseas accounts".
“By converting criminal cash into trade goods and selling them overseas, the network sought to make the proceeds appear to come from legitimate business activity.
“Money laundering enables criminal networks to fund further drug shipments and continue causing harm, while undermining trust in international trade and financial systems."
He said serious and organised crime networks operated across borders and used "layers of people businesses, and financial transactions to conceal their activities and profits".
“Profit is the lifeblood of transnational and serious organised crime. Disrupting illicit funds limits criminals’ ability to buy drugs, pay associates and finance further offending.
“Customs combines border information, trade data and financial intelligence with information from domestic and international partners to identify activity that does not add up and expose the networks behind it.”
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