Busted at the bay

$60 Million worth of cocaine found at Port of Tauranga

Talk about a heavy shipment. Customs officers, police and a few salty sea dogs from the Navy have just busted a stash of cocaine worth a cool $60.9 million at the Port of Tauranga. Hundreds of tightly packed bricks of nose beers were discovered tucked away in three shipping containers, like a dodgy version of Santa’s sleigh.

The vessel in question had sailed in all the way from Balboa, Panama. You’ve heard of Balboa the explorer - turns out this ship was exploring new ways to deliver party supplies.

According to Customs NZ, the team went rummaging through the containers on Sunday and hit the jackpot. Two of them were packed with duffel bags holding 129 bricks of cocaine, each weighing in at about a kilo. That haul alone would’ve fetched up to $50 million if it had made it to the streets. Quite the payday, or a massive weekend in Auckland.

Just four days earlier, eagle-eyed officers searched another container ship also from Panama (clearly the neighbourhood’s got a theme), and found another 28 bricks hiding in the chilly bin – sorry, refrigeration compartment – of a container. Add it all up, and that’s 157 kilos of the white stuff off the market.

Customs weren’t mucking around either. Their vessel Hawk V kept a beady eye on the ship from anchor to dock. Meanwhile, the Navy’s dive team went full Bond and had a look under the hull just in case someone had strapped a few extra party packs to the bottom.

Once the ship was safely tied up at Tauranga, Customs officers had a nosey through some containers that had been flagged as “suspicious” – which is official speak for “something’s fishy.” Sure enough, X-rays confirmed the cargo was not what you’d call your standard import.

Customs manager of maritime operations, Robert Smith, was understandably chuffed. “We’re taking a New Zealand Inc. approach,” he said, “working with all the right people to let transnational criminals know they’re not welcome here. They can expect more of us – not just in Tauranga.”

Smith was also quick to point out this wasn’t some lucky find. “These results come from hard mahi – Customs officers showing up every day, protecting our communities, and doing the kind of work that probably doesn’t make it into the movies, but sure as heck keeps us safe.”

So if you were wondering what Customs get up to besides confiscating your uncle’s excess duty-free whisky – it’s this. Stopping massive drug hauls before they ever get a sniff of New Zealand’s shores.