Why is New Zealand seeing so many record-breaking drug busts? - The Front Page revisited

Police removing canned goods and loading pallets into a hire truck at a commercial premises at 13 Ryan Place in Manukau City. Photo / Jason Oxenham

While The Front Page is on its summer break, we are revisiting some of the biggest news stories from 2023. New episodes return on January 15th.

Twenty years ago, when methamphetamine first arrived in Aotearoa, if police were able to find a kilogram of the illicit drug, that would be considered a giant bust.

Now, NZ Herald crime reporter Jared Savage says what was once considered a million dollars worth of drugs is now the standard.

“To put [it] in context, for many years, the biggest-ever bust, from 2006, was about 100 kilograms of meth. That remained the benchmark for about 10 years until 500 kilos was found up north, which was a mind-blowing discovery at the time,” Savage told The Front Page, the NZ Herald’s daily podcast.

“I wouldn’t say that’s routine, but we’ve had several other importations of a similar size. We’ve actually had, uh, one that is more than that, about 600 kilograms.”

Savage says that a recent police investigation into Honey Bear House beer cans could potentially test that record.

Police raided a property in Manukau on March 16 and seized multiple pallets of beer cans which were potentially laced with methamphetamine. It came after Aiden Sagala died on March 7 after drinking the tainted beer.

Two men have been arrested at this stage, and police have so far recovered 328kg of meth, and are expecting the figure to rise.

The case has highlighted the creative lengths drug smugglers will go to to get their products into the lucrative New Zealand market.

Savage says that meth-laced beer is far from the most inventive method that suppliers have used.

“I’m aware of methamphetamine being hidden inside concrete umbrella base stands. So, the methamphetamine is actually mixed into the concrete-like substance, imported into New Zealand as umbrella stands, and then on arrival in New Zealand, broken up and then reconstituted into methamphetamine.

“I’m aware of drugs being imported into New Zealand - sort of Cameo Creme kind of biscuits where you’ve got a jam or a cream type substance. In between the two biscuits, the drugs have been mixed into that cream bit, and then lodged between two legitimate biscuits and then packaged up as a packet of biscuits.”

Savage says that the only limit is the supplier’s imagination, and it’s all worth it for them to score a slice of our growing market.

“It’s all driven by the millions and millions of dollars that can be made by methamphetamine, in particular, in New Zealand.”

It’s not just meth that is coming into the country. Back in February, four tonnes of cocaine were intercepted in the Pacific Ocean as part of Operation Hydros in the country’s largest drug bust ever.

So, why is New Zealand such a profitable market for drugs, are our authorities up to the task of stopping the drugs from getting across our borders, and is there a way to lessen the demands?

Listen to the full episode of The Front Page podcast for more from Jared Savage on what’s behind the record-breaking drug busts.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. New episodes return January 15th.

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