Four men in Wellington have appeared in court after one of New Zealand’s largest ever drug seizures at the border – almost two tonne of liquid ecstasy.
The estimated 1950 litres of gamma butyrolactone (GBL) – with a street value of around $14 million – was seized as part of Operation Hermes, a six-month operation led by police and Customs.
GBL – commonly known as Fantasy or liquid ecstasy – was a depressant which could make users feel nauseous, groggy, confused and cause memory lapses.
Customs officers made the mammoth discovery after an inspection of a commercial shipment arriving in the country identified anomalies in what was declared.
Four men – ranging in age from 38 to 75 – were arrested after search warrants were executed this week.
“Police have also seized a number of vehicles and boats as part of an asset recovery phase, as we look to utilise all available legislation as part of our approach in dismantling this syndicate,” Detective Inspector Darrin Thomson said.
The group appeared in the Wellington District Court on a range of charges, including importation of methamphetamine and GBL; and possession for supply of GBL, methamphetamine, and cocaine.
They were due to reappear in court on September 15 and September 22. Two of the men were remanded in custody.
Thomson called the seizure and arrests “good news for the Wellington region”.
“We have been able to disrupt a significant transnational criminal network operating in the area, stopping the biggest ever import of GBL from reaching the streets of our capital where it could have caused considerable harm.”
Chief Customs Officer Regional Investigations Rachael Manning said the haul was “believed to be the largest ever seizure of drugs at New Zealand’s border”.
“Customs intelligence enabled our targeting team to identify an import method being used by the suspects to smuggle drugs,” she said.
“Following the seizure, we carefully coordinated a controlled delivery to gather evidence against those responsible.”
Customs also intercepted several importations of more than 10 kilograms of methamphetamine, worth around $3.75 million, in the joint operation.
Police and Customs were working with international partners to identify those responsible overseas.
