Police seized tens of thousands of dollars, drugs, luxury goods and other evidence.
Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
There have been more arrests in a long-running covert operation into money laundering in the construction sector.
Seven arrests have been made on Tuesday after a string of search warrants, on top of 16 earlier arrests.
Police seized tens of thousands of dollars, drugs, luxury goods and other evidence.
The operation, dubbed Operation Beach, is probing cash wages being used to launder money.
“Sectors that use cash in high volumes are susceptible to exploitation by organised crime groups who look to inject proceeds of crime into labourers’ wages at legitimate construction projects,” Detective Inspector Chris Allan said.
The search warrants were at properties across Auckland in Ellerslie, Mt Wellington, Panmure, Mt Roskill, Weymouth, Murrays Bay, Waimauku and Whenuapai.
“Police allege the scale of this laundering is significant and involves multiple millions in transacted funds,” Detective Inspector Allan said.
He said cash payments for wages create a fertile ground for money laundering, tax evasion and worker exploitation.
“Employers who pay in cash may unknowingly or deliberately facilitate organised crime, including drug trafficking and human exploitation,” Allan said.
The operation began just over two years ago in August 2023.
Police identified a money laundering organisation behind laundering money from drug importing, the cultivation and supply of cannabis and illegal prostitution.
They warned that paying cash wages was not just risky, it could also be criminal.
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