An Auckland man has been jailed after importing dozens of litres of GBL and an acid used to make methamphetamine.
Kitson Henderson, 42, was sentenced to two years and five months in prison at Auckland District Court after he was convicted of importing 24 litres of a class B controlled drug, gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL), as well as 24 litres of hypophosphorous acid.
He was also convicted of firearms offences — unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of explosives and unlawful carrying of an imitation firearm.
Customs said Henderson attempted to import the chemicals in a courier shipment from China in December 2020.
“Customs’ seizure of this significant quantity of GBL, also referred to as a date rape drug, led to further investigations that successfully stopped this man’s plans and turned up a substantial amount of equipment for methamphetamine manufacturing at his West Auckland address,” Customs manager investigations Dominic Adams said.
Customs, alongside the police, executed a search warrant at Henderson address, leading to the discovery of more methamphetamine equipment.
“Among the drug making equipment found in the Customs and police search of the man’s property was what was later confirmed to be a Parr bomb, which is a metal cylinder with a screw cap and ball valve commonly used for manufacturing methamphetamine,” Adams said.
“Chemicals including acetone and hydrochloric acid, which are used to make methamphetamine, were also found during the search along with a number of weapons, including firearms, machetes, a flick knife, and ammunition.”
The National Drug Intelligence Bureau estimated the 24 litres of GBL seized by Customs had a potential street value of $72,000.
“Our Customs teams’ success in terminating this drug operation went beyond the seizure of GBL which is a drug that we know is used in sexual assaults and we are pleased to see this offender now paying for his crimes,” Adams said.