Since the beginning of May, New Zealand Customs has made five separate drug seizures, including stopping a new drug hitting the streets.

New drug an emerging threat
In Blenheim, Christchurch-based officers made an arrest after mail bound for Blenheim containing a rarely seen class A controlled drug dimethylltryphamine (DMT) — similar to LSD — was detected at the mail centre in Auckland.

The package contained 18 kilograms of DMT. Previously very small interceptions have been noted in New Zealand, however this is certainly the largest on record. DMT is a psychedelic drug where people react very differently to its use depending on the amount consumed and its purity. This poses a real risk to health.

A joint operation between Customs and the New Zealand Police led to a search of the property the package was addressed to. Customs officers arrested a 21-year-old male at the property, who has been charged with importation of a class A controlled drug.

The maximum penalty for such an offence is life imprisonment.

Date rape drug smuggled in nail polish bottles
On 17 May 2011, New Zealand Customs officers in Wellington arrested a 34-year-old New Zealand male after they became suspicious of two packages arriving from the United States. The packages contained 1.2 litres of the class B controlled drug gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), smuggled in nail polish bottles. The abuse of GBL is widespread throughout New Zealand and is particularly popular in both the night club and party scene as it produces feelings of sedation and euphoria. It is also known as a ‘date rape’ drug because it can render a victim unconscious and produce memory loss. An overdose can cause nausea, vomiting, convulsions, coma, and death.

The man has been charged with two charges of importation of a class B controlled drug, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.

The fight against ‘P’ continues
On 16 May 2011, in a joint Customs and Police operation, a 39-year-old male was arrested in Whangarei after Customs officers intercepted a package from the United Kingdom in Auckland. It contained individually sealed and wrapped packets of the class C drug ephedrine — a substance commonly used to manufacture methamphetamine (‘P’) — with a total weight of 4 kilograms.

A few days earlier, Customs officers had intercepted another package from Thailand destined for another address in Whangarei containing packets of white powder that were also found to contain 3 kilograms of ephedrine.

Both packages had been declared as herbal powder scrub and totalled 8 kilograms. This amount of precursor could produce between 3.5 and 4.9 kilograms of ‘P’. The community harm caused by this amount of ‘P’ comes to between $1.41 million and $1.97 million dollars.

The male has been charged with importation and possession for supply of a class C controlled drug which carries a maximum penalty of eight years imprisonment

More drugs in shoes
In a repeat of the recent drugs-in-shoes incident, officers in Christchurch caught a man returning from Thailand with pseudoephedrine in his shoes and bag. His companion was carrying more in her luggage. The total weight of pseudoephedrine was 217 grams.

Both were charged with importation of a class C controlled drug which carries a maximum penalty of eight years.

This intercept follows the April incident at Auckland Airport when a group of ten Malaysian drug couriers, all in the same tour group and all carrying crystal methamphetamine (‘P’) in their shoes, were caught by Customs officers.

At the end of the first quarter of this calendar year, New Zealand Customs has made 220 interceptions of pseudoephedrine or ephedrine with a potential yield of between 48 and 67 kilograms of methamphetamine (‘P’) removing in the vicinity of $27 million dollars of potential harm from New Zealand.

ENDS

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