MEDIA RELEASE – 23 October 2008

NZ Customs Stops $28 million of Potential "P".

New Zealand Customs has seized a 100-kilo shipment of Contac NT (pseudoephedrine) at the border, only weeks after an 80-kilo seizure that had been the third largest haul of its kind seen here.

Pseudoephedrine is the principal component used in the manufacture of the drug methamphetamine (P) and 100 kilograms of Contac NT could make some 28 kilos of P with a street value of around $28 million.

The latest seizure, made in Auckland, saw the Contac NT concealed in a shipment of furniture from China.

Customs Manager Drug Investigations, Bill Perry, said this was now the third largest haul of pseudoephedrine made in New Zealand.

"It was a result of good intelligence and particularly vigilant and diligent work by our officers on the ground," he said. "It's always a huge boost for our people when we make discoveries like this – especially when they're this big.

"It's chilling to think of the consequences of amounts like this being released into our community."

Mr Perry said a joint Customs/Police investigation into the importation of this shipment had resulted in two male offenders being charged with import and possession for supply of a class C controlled drug. The maximum sentence is 8-years imprisonment.

ENDS

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