Customs officers at the Port of Tauranga spent their Boxing Day opening boxes, including several containing about 18kg of methamphetamine and cocaine, with an estimated street value of $6.5 million.

Customs maritime manager Robert Smith said the drugs were found inside a shipping container, which originated in South America and transited via Panama before it arrived in Tauranga on December 26.

Smith said the container was risk-assessed and flagged as part of Customs’ layered approach to pre-arrival, and screened on arrival in Tauranga.

“During inspections, frontline officers found irregularities within the container.

“Further inspection led to the seizure of an estimated 10kg of methamphetamine, packaged in 1kg bundles, and seven bricks of cocaine weighing an estimated 8kg.”

Smith said the amount of methamphetamine and cocaine would have equated to a retail street value of up to $3m and $3.5m respectively, which would now not “feed the pockets of criminals”.

This takes the total cocaine seizures at the Port of Tauranga last year to more than 558kg, with an estimated street value of $194.8m, more than double that discovered in 2024.

This includes an estimated 16kg of cocaine with a street value of $5.6m discovered in a refrigerated container on a ship that arrived in Tauranga on December 11.

Its voyage began in Peru, transiting through Balboa, Panama, before arriving in Tauranga.

On December 4, 45kg of cocaine valued at nearly $16m was found in a container that originated in Houston, Texas, which also transited via Balboa.

Cocaine and meth seizures at the Port of Tauranga have topped a value of almost $969m in just under four years, according to the latest Customs figures.

New Zealand Customs is using intelligence and technology to battle rising drug smuggling at the Port of Tauranga. Photo / Mike Scott

Smith said that, while many Kiwis spent Boxing Day with their families, Customs officers in Tauranga were intercepting high-risk containers and ensuring legitimate trade continued smoothly.

“This seizure highlights Customs’ commitment to continue to apply pressure on criminal networks.

“Many legitimate companies were seeing firsthand the impact this type of activity can have on their businesses.”

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.

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