Two men on e-scooters were arrested in Auckland over the weekend after being caught with nearly $8 million worth of cocaine.
Police say the arrests were made on Saturday, June 1, after the two men had allegedly broken into a container at a commercial address in Onehunga, where the drugs had been concealed.
“It is alleged that 17 kilograms of the illegal substance was removed from a shipping container,” Detective Inspector Tom Gollan said, in a statement.
Following the alleged break-in, the pair left the container yard on e-scooters but were arrested by police shortly after.
It’s estimated the retail value of the drugs found was around $7.65 million, however, police said: “At this stage, it is not yet clear if it was for the New Zealand or Australian market.”
It is alleged the two men, an Australian and a Kiwi living in Australia, had entered the country with the sole purpose of retrieving the drugs.
“Police believe the pair are members of an organised criminal syndicate,” Gollan said.
Both men, aged 33 and 42, were charged with burglary and the possession for supply of cocaine.
They have since appeared in the Auckland District Court and are set to reappear on Tuesday, 25 June.
Enquiries into the container that hid the cocaine revealed it originated in Brazil and moved through Brisbane in Australia before arriving in Auckland in late May.
Gollan said this was the 26th transnational organised crime cell (TONC) busted in New Zealand since 2017.
“It is disconcerting to see overseas transnational organised groups insert their people into New Zealand to facilitate these crimes and demonstrates their willingness to profit from community misery,” he said.
“While these TNOC groups continue to evolve and adapt their offending to avoid detection, but so do we, and yet again we were one rung ahead of them.”