Port of Tauranga drug bust: Customs seize 130kg of cocaine in shipping container from Italy

The container was loaded with machinery and had arrived from Italy via Panama, he said.

After an X-ray and a physical examination, officers found 130 blocks of cocaine, each 1kg, inside duffel bags at the front of the container.

Each brick had a picture of a lion on the outside and ‘GGG’ branding, Smith said.

He credited the seizure to leading-edge technology and his officer’s know-how.

“This seizure is a result of our intelligence processes, leading-edge technology and officer know-how, which enables Customs to keep our borders secure and prevent TSOC groups from profiting from communities.”

Smith put a high value on Customs’ partnerships with port authorities, police and traders.

“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. These activities not only impact the speed and costs of imports but damage New Zealand’s reputation as a trading nation,” he said.

“Co-operation across government and industry is strengthening our border and we will continue to evolve and adapt to target this threat.”

Hundreds of bricks of cocaine worth up to $60.9m were found inside three containers at the Port of Tauranga on May 4.

Customs officers, police and Navy members searched a container ship that had arrived from Balboa, Panama and found the drugs, Customs said.

One hundred and twenty-nine bricks of cocaine, also each weighing up to 1kg, were found in duffel bags inside two of the containers.

Customs vessel Hawk V had monitored the ship both at anchor off the port and on to its berth at the port, with the Royal New Zealand Navy dive team undertaking a dive to check the vessel’s hull.

Several containers onboard were risk-assessed as “suspicious” and X-rayed.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.