An estimated 157kg of cocaine — worth up to $60.9 million — has been seized at the Port of Tauranga from two separate ships.
Customs officers, joined by colleagues from the police and navy, made the seizures from three separate shipping containers.
On May 4, authorities searched a container vessel that had arrived in Tauranga from Balboa, Panama, carrying an “assortment of containerised cargo”.
After navy divers searched the ship’s hull, customs officers went aboard to search.
Several shipping containers were risk-assessed as “suspicious”. X-rays and physical examination led to the discovery of 129 bricks of cocaine, each weighing 1kg, hidden in duffel bags in two of the containers.
According to Customs, the drugs found in the two containers had an estimated street value of $50 million.
The discovery took place just four days after a separate search of a vessel, also from Panama, turned up 28 bricks of cocaine, also weighing 1kg each. The packages were found in the refrigeration compartment of a container.
The total haul from both searches was 157kg of cocaine, worth up to $60.9 million.
A Customs spokesperson told 1News the ships used to smuggle the drugs were “unwitting participants” and were compliant with entry requirements.
Customs manager maritime Robert Smith hoped the combined approach of customs, police, and the navy would “send a stark warning to transnational and serious organised crime groups that they are not welcome on our shores”.
“We have been working closely with port authorities and shipping companies – these seizures are evidence our partnerships are really making an impact.”
Smith said criminal groups could “expect to see more of us”, and not just in Tauranga.
“It is important to emphasise these are not one-off seizures found by chance – these results are through the dedication and hard work of Customs officers who are playing their part day in and day out to protect our borders and communities.”
Customs told 1News it was unable to comment on whether any arrests had resulted from the seizures, as the matter was still under investigation.