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Six arrested after $135m drug bust
25 May 2006
By ALASTAIR BULL
A million doses of P, 150kg of drugs destined for P labs and weapons that would make James Bond proud were among an estimated $135 million haul police and customs have made in Auckland.
Three Chinese men, a Hong Kong national and two New Zealand residents of Chinese descent have been arrested following the haul made in Auckland over the past two weeks, the largest bust of these drugs in New Zealand history.
The haul, which came in on separate shipments among goods in shipping containers which originated in the southern Chinese port of Shekou, made an impressive sight at the Counties-Manukau Police headquarters today.
The table included 95 1kg plastic bags of crystal methamphetamine (known as ice, or P), either white or yellow in colour, and one large plastic bag with 150kg of pink pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient used in the manufacture of P.
Customs drugs investigations manager Simon Williamson said each of the 1kg crystal methamphetamine bags had a street value of about $1 million, which equated to $96 million and a huge number of uses of the drug.
"There's about 10 doses per gram, and we've got 1000 grams per bag and 96 bags so that's about 1 million individual doses," he said.
"So you imagine that on the New Zealand drug scene."
The 150kg bag of pseudoephedrine had a street value of about $40 million.
They were hidden in mortar and plaster sacks, which were also shown to media.
Also laid on the table were five weapons which were found loaded at a subsequent raid at an address in the plush suburb of Kohimarama, east of downtown Auckland.
They included a M16 assault rifle, three handguns and one tiny gun shaped as a pen, a weapon banned in New Zealand which seemed fit for a James Bond movie.
The investigation called Operation Major began early this year with police from Auckland Crime and Operations Group and the New Zealand Customs Service co-operating in a joint operation with Hong Kong Police, Narcotics Bureau, and supported by the National Drug Intelligence Bureau.
The drug seizure dwarfed the previous record methamphetamine seizure in New Zealand – 8kg, seized earlier this year.
" It is a new dimension to the New Zealand drug scene because until this time most drugs of this major amount would be in transit to an offshore country," Mr Williamson said.
"That's not the case here; we're quite clear that these drugs were intended for distribution in the New Zealand marketplace."
Police Detective Inspector Bruce Good said the haul should have some impact on drug trafficking.
" It's a group that's operating offshore that's sending produce to New Zealand and possibly to other places," he said.
"This will have an impact in the global market. For how long we don't know."
However, Mr Williamson said authorities needed to do more than attack the supply route to stop large-scale P importation.
"Whilst there is a high demand in this country for these types of drugs, particularly methamphetamine, we will continue to see transnational drug trafficking groups looking to fulfil that demand with supply of this multitude," he said.
"Police and customs are involved in supply reduction but there's a whole other side of the coin. Demand reduction and education is just as important."
The six arrested men range in age from 28 to 66. All have appeared in Auckland District Court charged with importing Class A
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