Detective Inspector Shaun Vickers said: "We know the community expected police to get on with the investigation and bring about justice for Elizabeth.
"From the outset of this investigation, the team of detectives working on Operation Attina have worked diligently to bring about a result in this case."
A man, 47, has been charged with the murder of Elizabeth Zhong.
Vickers said he hoped the arrest would bring some reassurance to the community and to the victim's family.
Police had initially issued an appeal for sightings of the missing woman.
They found her vehicle around the corner from her home about 11am on Saturday, November 28.
However, it was revealed that officers did not open the boot of the vehicle until several hours later.
Part of the police investigation, early on, included reviewing CCTV footage from the street.
Their focus was on the evening of Friday, November 27, to about 10am the next day.
Police and forensics examine a property in the East Auckland suburb of Sunnyhills. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Humble beginnings
Zhong, who also went by the name Ying Zhong, moved to New Zealand from China in 1997 with her then young daughter and husband.
Friends said she lived in a then Housing NZ property before she amassed "significant wealth" according to her friends.
She had worked hard to become a successful businesswoman and had links to the film and wine industries. However she had been bankrupted about two weeks before her death.
Her home was estimated to be worth about $2 million.
She was also known to have been active in working with investors in China and hosting visiting delegations.
One such delegation made a trip to New Zealand in 2018 and they she hosted them at one of the vineyards she owned.
Zhong was the sole owner and director of at least two wine-making companies that had since gone into receivership - Kennedy Point Vineyard on Waiheke Island and Carrick Wines in Central Otago.
She was also the sole owner and director of Digital Post Ltd - a film production company - Digipost Entertainment and associated companies.
