Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
A Canadian woman has been arrested after trying to smuggle more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine through a New Zealand airport, authorities said. Illicit drugs disguised as Christmas presents, from New Zealand the customs agency said earlier this week on social media.
The Canadian woman, who has not been publicly identified, arrived in Auckland on a flight from Vancouver, Canada on Sunday, December 8. Customs officers questioned the woman after she disembarked, the customs agency said. Officers then searched her handbag and found the drugs, covered in festive wrapping paper.
The drugs would have been worth up to NZ$3.8 million, or $2.2 million, the customs agency he said in a press release.
New Zealand Customs Service
The woman was arrested and faces drug importation and possession charges, authorities said. New Zealand public broadcaster RNZ reported that the woman appeared in the Manukau District Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody.
Auckland Airport director Paul Williams said international organized crime groups often try to take advantage of the busy travel season to bring illicit goods into the country.
“But a busy airport doesn’t mean that Customs doesn’t focus on or pay attention to anyone who may pose a drug risk,” Williams said in the press release. Williams said all passengers arriving in New Zealand are screened before they even arrive in the country.
Williams said in the press release that he and his colleagues “know that drugs shipped from North America are a growing risk” and are prepared to find and seize such shipments, even if they are “smaller targets “.
New Zealand Customs Service
A Man from Los Angeles traveling to New Zealand was arrested in late November after security agents at Los Angeles International Airport found clothing laced with methamphetamine in his luggage. In total, about one kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, of methamphetamine was recovered from the clothing.
This same week, the international navel operation “Orion” resulted in the seizure of more than 1,400 tons of drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, along a Pacific trafficking route from South America to Australia.
US authorities busted one alleged international drug trafficking network who was smuggling methamphetamine into foreign countries, including Australia and New Zealand, in February. These drugs were smuggled on various ships, including books and dolls.
