His latest book, Underworld: The new era of gangs in New Zealand, is the third in a series he’s released since 2020 – and the latest instalment delves deeper into our country’s dark underbelly of gangs, guns, drugs and money – lots and lots of money.
He told The Front Page that New Zealand is seeing unprecedented volumes of methamphetamine and other drugs turn up on our shores.
“When I first started reporting, one kilo of meth was a big deal, and it was a front-page story. These days, even the smallest of drug dealers would have far more than one kilo in the back of the car. Now we are talking imports of 400 to 700 kilograms,” he said.
Despite some record-breaking busts, like the 613kg of meth intercepted at Auckland Airport in 2022, New Zealand’s appetite for drugs remains high.
“Those big busts [are] having quite a negligible impact on how much drugs are actually being consumed,” Savage said. “We can see through wastewater testing that for a long time we were consuming about 15 kilos of meth per week. Then last year, it was more than double every single week.”
Organised crime groups have spent decades solidifying their presence in New Zealand. Drug importation and sales now rely on a global network, which includes Asian syndicates and Mexican cartels collaborating with local gangs.
While homegrown gangs have been instrumental in distributing drugs throughout the country, it’s the Australian imports that have come with an international contact book.
“What has really changed in the last 10 years, in particular, is members of Australian motorcycle gangs being deported here and establishing truly international crime groups.
“They had genuine connections to supply lines overseas, not just in Asia, but to the South Americas, Mexico and the US.
“It’s no coincidence that [large drug imports] happened around the same time that we started seeing deportees come here. They’ve also brought more of a brazen, arrogant approach to the underworld.
“It’s not just the Aussie gangs now that are doing these big imports, but they were certainly the ones that kicked things off.
Savage said while police are doing the best they can, the only way the supply of drugs is going to dry up is if the demand for drugs dries up.
“We certainly need to be looking more into investment in rehabilitation, counselling opportunities for people who are tied up in addiction ...
“The answers lie within each community ... There are always people in there that are doing amazing work with young people; they just need some support,” he said.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about New Zealand’s dark underbelly, and what could be done to fix it.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
