Customs seizes cocaine from Panama container at Port of Tauranga

Twenty-one bricks of cocaine, branded “VESPA” and with a mouse logo, have been seized at the Port of Tauranga.

A duffle bag containing 21 bricks of cocaine, worth an estimated $7.3 million, has been seized from a shipping container at the Port of Tauranga.

A Customs statement said the container arrived from Balboa, Panama on Friday and was risk-assessed as part of normal procedures for incoming cargo and vessels.

X-ray screening sparked suspicions that led to a physical inspection of the container.

Inside the container, among legitimate goods, Customs officers found a shrink-wrapped duffel bag with 21 bricks of the Class-A drug, branded with “VESPA” and a “mouse logo” and wrapped in “fragile” tape.

The 21kg haul had an estimated New Zealand street value of $7.3m.

It is the latest in a series of cocaine busts in containers at New Zealand’s biggest port.

Customs seized 150kg of cocaine, estimated to be worth $58.2m, from a container originating in Jamaica at the port in July.

Another 130kg, worth up to $50.44m, was seized at the port in May, and 157kg of cocaine worth $60.9m four weeks before that.

Customs group manager maritime Paul Campbell said this year alone, Customs had intercepted more than 430kg of cocaine in Tauranga.

This was “nearly double the amount seized at the port in 2024″.

Campbell said Customs had an intelligence-led, multi-layered strategy to safeguarding New Zealand’s borders.

“Transnational, serious, and organised crime groups continue to exploit legitimate trade routes, causing delays and disruptions across the supply chain.”

Customs was aware of the impact this had on businesses, and Campbell said its role was twofold: “To facilitate legitimate trade while actively dismantling criminal networks”.

Each interception strengthened its intelligence capabilities.

“We have a strong grasp of how these groups operate and where they plan to strike, reflected in our growing seizure statistics.”

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s annual World Drug Report in June said cocaine-related deaths were rising in many countries, the New York Times reported.

The report said cocaine use has been linked to heart disease, aggressive driving behaviour and long-term developmental issues in babies when used during pregnancy.

An estimated 25 million people used cocaine worldwide in 2023 – up from 17 million a decade earlier. Production in 2023 jumped by 34% from 2022, the report said.

Suspicions about drug smuggling can be reported confidentially to 0800 WE PROTECT (0800 937 768) or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.