Canadian woman allegedly caught with gift-wrapped meth faces charges in New Zealand

A 29-year-old Canadian woman faces charges in New Zealand after customs officials say she was caught with 10.2 kilograms of methamphetamine in her carry-on luggage at an Auckland airport, with the contraband wrapped as if belonged to a Christmas tree.

Issued by the New Zealand Customs Service a press release on Tuesday saying the woman took a flight from Vancouver to Auckland and arrived in the North Island city on December 8.

The individual was questioned after landing in Auckland, Customs said. Officers searched her bag and allegedly found the drugs inside.

The woman was not identified by name in the release issued by Customs.

Customs said the woman faces “charges of importation and possession for supply of a Class A controlled drug” and appeared in Auckland’s Manukau District Court on the same charges and from she has since been arrested.

In a statement, Paul Williams, the customs manager at Auckland Airport, told CBC News that no further information will be released about the investigation, which is ongoing.

Global Affairs Canada said it was aware of the detention of a Canadian in New Zealand. The department said it was closely monitoring the situation and offering consular assistance. He declined to offer further comment, citing privacy considerations.

Canadian Air Transport Safety Authority the Crown corporation responsible for security control at more than 80 Canadian airports, including Vancouver International Airport — told CBC News in an email that he was “not aware” of the investigation in New Zealand and, as such, has no information about it.

Recent arrests of Canadians

The New Zealand Customs Service has publicly reported at least two incidents earlier this year involving Canadians flying out of Vancouver, landing in New Zealand and then being arrested on charges of transporting methamphetamine into the island nation.

An involved case a 27-year-old man who traveled abroad in Augustwhile another involved a 27-year-old woman who flew to Auckland at the end of October. Customs had referred to these two individuals as suspected drug couriers.

Williams said the New Zealand Customs Service is paying close attention to all of these developments.

“Customs recognizes the value of linking all of these interceptions to build a picture of emerging border trends,” Williams said in a statement sent to CBC News.

“More collaborative work is being done with our Canadian partners to disrupt criminal gangs and drug importation, including through the passenger flow.”

Last year, authorities in Australia, Canada and New Zealand they worked together to get busted what is the New Zealand Customs Service described as “an elaborate scheme” that he intended to ship large quantities of methamphetamine overseas from Canada hiding it in containers of maple syrup.

Long sentences for some drug convictions

There are cases of Canadians serving long sentences for drug-related offenses in New Zealand.

A Canadian male in his 30s was delivered a sentence of nine years and nine months in May after being convicted of importing a Class A controlled drug. At the time of his arrest, Customs had stated that he was a Canadian citizen. He had been caught with nearly 26 kilograms of methamphetamine, which police said was hidden inside the lining of his suitcases.

Canadians have also been caught with methamphetamine in their luggage Down Under in recent months. according to the Australian Federal Police. In separate cases in October, a 59-year-old man was arrested at an airport in Brisbane and a 38-year-old man arrested in Sydney.

Both had flown to Australia from Vancouver and both had several kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in their luggage, police said.