30 May 2025

69kg of drugs seized at Auckland Airport

7:11 pm on 30 May 2025
Customs officers at Auckland Airport seized nearly 70 kgs of drugs in two separate incidents on 29 May 2025.

Customs officers at Auckland Airport seized nearly 70 kgs of drugs in two separate incidents. Photo: Supplied/ NZ Customs

Drugs with an estimated street value of nearly $26 million have been seized in two separate incidents at Auckland Airport.

Customs say in the first case, officers found 50kg of methamphetamine inside two unaccompanied duffel bags, which arrived on a flight from Malaysia.

And the bag of a passenger arriving from New York contained nearly 18kg of methamphetamine and 1kg of cocaine.

A 22-year-old man faces drugs charges in relation to the bag from New York.

"Both these seizures were the result of the excellent skills of our frontline officers who recognised tell-tale signs that prompted further investigations and turned up these significant quantities of illegal drugs," said Customs' Acting Manager Auckland Airport Donnelle Nicholson.

Nicholson said officers had stopped about half a tonne of illicit drugs from entering New Zealand so far this year, which was significant and concerning.

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