New Zealand: Drug haul biggest in NZ

The largest single pure methamphetamine seizure in New Zealand's history - worth more than $8 million - has thrust Wellington into the front line of the war against the drug, police say.

A week-long police and customs surveillance operation tracked an 8.1kg shipment of crystallised methamphetamine to an upmarket Wellington hotel room.

Detectives found the entire shipment in a room at the Duxton Hotel on Friday night, having traced it from Auckland, where it was discovered by customs officers hidden in factory-wrapped water filters from China.

Three people were arrested outside the hotel and two of them will re-appear in Wellington District Court today on charges relating to the importation, possession and conspiracy to import and supply a class A drug.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

A number of police and customs operations since 2004 have intercepted shipments ranging from 2kg to 7.7kg, but customs drug investigation manager Simon Williamson said the Wellington seizure indicated an alarming trend.

The average size of intercepted methamphetamine shipments had grown from 71.6 grams in 2003 to 1.2kg last year.

"You can see the pattern emerging, it's pretty symbolic of a steady supply coming through," Mr Williamson said.

"This is the biggest single seizure made to date."

Operation Fiona started last Sunday and involved 40 police and customs officers. After the shipment was pinpointed through information from customs, surveillance soon centred on a house in Miramar.

Detective Senior Sergeant Darrin Thomson said the house was thought to have been rented specifically to receive the shipment.

The seizure would have major ramifications within the drug hierarchy, Mr Thomson said. "Someone has lost a major investment here, someone is seriously out of pocket."

The shipment was the largest ever known into Wellington "by a long way" Mr Thomson said, indicating a high level of demand.

"Wellington district's methamphetamine appetite could have consumed this particular shipment."

Evidence from local busts indicated a hunger for the drug with "point-dealers" – selling a single gram for $1000 – being progressively replaced by dealers selling 10-20g at a time, and even more in some cases. "It's not uncommon to find ounce dealers, whereas that was rare a while ago."

The drug can be bought in Asia for as little as $20 a gram.

A rise in violent crime linked to methamphetamine abuse showed how much of a catalyst it was for further offending.

Mr Thomson said police had a clear indication that Asian crime syndicates were behind the latest shipment and knew this particular group had been operating for a considerable time. The international traffickers often took advantage of New Zealand gangs' extensive and established distribution networks.

More arrests were likely as the investigation linked to Chinese law enforcement agencies through Interpol.

"This organised crime group would be one of the most significant distributors of methamphetamine in New Zealand," Mr Thomson said.

Mr Williamson said the discovery of a "super-lab" under construction in Fiji last year, capable of producing up to 1000kg of crystallised methamphetamine in a week, showed the extent that international drug manufacturers were going to to service New Zealand demand.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org/amphetablog.html
Pubdate: Mon, 30 January 2006
Source: Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand)
Author: Nick Churchouse
Website: http://www.stuff.co.nz/