Raid seizes kauri gum haul at Whangarei massage parlour

One of the many chunks of unpolished kauri gum seized from a Whangarei massage parlour. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Whangarei police have seized thousands of dollars worth of kauri gum from a central city massage parlour.

Banana boxes, fish bins and sacks filled with mostly chunks of unpolished Kauri gum were found during a search of the Scarlet Lounge on Clyde St, on Tuesday.

However, investigations yesterday saw police return some of the gum after they found it was legally obtained. They still have hundreds of kilograms of allegedly stolen kauri gum.

Officers carried out two search warrants - one at the Scarlet Lounge and the other at a rural property south of the city at Oakleigh.

Constable Geoff Bigwood said there had been numerous burglaries over the past 12 months in Northland where kauri gum had been targeted.

"We know of about five burglaries where gum has been taken, but there could be more that have not be reported."

"It's a valuable commodity and we believe it's being exported to the Chinese market."

While the bulk of the haul was unpolished gum there were some pieces that had been finished to a high quality.

Constable Bigwood urged anyone with private kauri gum collections to ensure they were secure and said museums in the region should also review their security.

In May thieves raided cabinets at Waiharara's Gumdiggers' Park, 24km north west of Kaitaia, and stole about 80 pieces of polished gum. At the time owner John Johnson saw two balaclava-clad men who charged at and threw kauri gum at him.

He went to Whangarei police station yesterday to see if any of his precious pieces were among the haul, but had no luck.

Mr Johnson said there was definitely a market for the gum.

It was popular in the Asian market and said there were a lot of collectors around.

This week Kaitaia man Heta Lennod Lloyd, 24, admitted stealing the gum from Gumdiggers' Park when he appeared in Kaitaia District Court. Lloyd admitted breaking into the park, with an unknown associate.

Following yesterday's search warrants Raymond Te Huia Coe, 30, from Oakleigh, appeared in Whangarei District Court yesterday on a charge of burglary, while Weiquan Yang, 43, butcher from Whangarei, entered no plea to a charge of receiving.

Both were remanded on bail to October 12.