An estimated 130kg of cocaine worth up to $50.44 million has been seized from a shipping container at the Port of Tauranga.
Customs said officers deemed the container, which had arrived from Italy via Panama on May 26 loaded with machinery, as suspicious.
X-rays and a physical examination led to the discovery of duffel bags containing 130 bricks of cocaine, each weighing 1kg.
The bricks of cocaine each had a picture of a lion on the outside and were branded ‘GGG’.
Customs maritime manager Robert Smith said it will only get tougher for transnational and serious organised crime groups to operate in the country thanks to “new investments in our technology and capability”.
Smith said partnerships with port authorities, police and traders help to “respond quickly and effectively to the threat of drug smuggling.”
“These relationships equip us to respond collaboratively, quickly and effectively to the threat of drug smuggling. The impact to trade and importers’ business by organised crime should not be underestimated.”
Earlier this month, Customs seized an estimated 157kg of cocaine worth up to $60 million in three separate containers at the Port of Tauranga.
