2 April 2014

Young man sentenced for importing objectionable material

A foreign national has been sentenced in the Manukau District Court today, following his arrest at Auckland International Airport for importing objectionable material.

The young man arrived in New Zealand on 18 March and was questioned by Customs officers. A search of his two mobile phones found objectionable images involving children. A further examination of other electronic items revealed more similar images.

The man, who was released on bail last Friday, was fined and will be deported.

Customs Investigations Manager Maurice O’Brien says objectionable material of any kind is prohibited in New Zealand, and Customs places a high priority on this type of offending when profiling passengers.

“This interception shows that Customs’ profiling techniques, targeted operations, and the vigilance of our highly-skilled officers is effective in identifying the right people.

“Child sexual exploitation and trading its imagery is a serious crime, and unfortunately today’s technologies make it easier for people to access, store and share the images.

“Customs will continue to assess electronic devices and people based on our risk-profiling, in an effort to protect our community from this type of offending,” he says.

Last year, Customs detained 295 computers and 548 electronic devices for detailed examination of equipment that were suspected to contain objectionable material or other evidence of border offending.

Customs works closely with enforcement agencies in New Zealand and around the world to break up networks trading in illegal child sexual abuse images.

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