![\"Associate](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/james-meager-UT7IFLAGCRAYPOAVGBFGQW2ZAM.png\")
<\/p>\nNew Zealand\u2019s ports are under growing pressure as organised criminal networks carry out increasingly brazen break-ins to retrieve smuggled drugs, prompting urgent calls for tighter security and tougher vetting of port workers.<\/p>\n
Customs data released to 1News shows security breaches at several of the country\u2019s ports, including broken perimeter fences, unauthorised entry into container and cruise ship terminals, and even small boats infiltrating ports by sea. <\/p>\n
Paul Campbell, Customs Group Manager Maritime, said the operations are calculated and well organised.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re cunning, they often plan. They are generally accessing late into the night and in the early hours of the morning,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n
Since December 2023, Customs has recorded 13 incidents of unauthorised entry, break-ins or security breaches at ports and Customs Controlled Areas (CCAs) in relation to illicit goods – mostly at the Port of Tauranga, but also in Wellington and Christchurch.<\/p>\n
Campbell revealed additional cases not reported in those figures, including a breach in Nelson, but did not know specific numbers.<\/p>\n
New Zealand\u2019s ports are under growing pressure, prompting urgent calls for tighter security and tougher vetting of port workers. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
When damaged containers are found at ports, Customs staff usually conclude drugs were hidden inside, Campbell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a slow but significant increase in the number of port attacks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are going through the security fences. We\u2019ve had experience of offenders or suspects being in vessels, so small craft on the seaward side of ports.\u201d <\/p>\n
Campbell highlighted the ongoing issue of trusted insiders – people working inside ports who use their access to facilitate criminal activity.<\/p>\n
The latest figures show 1964kg of methamphetamine, 670kg of cocaine, and 129kg of MDMA has been seized at the border this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe concealment methods are as broad as your imagination,\u201d Campbell said. <\/p>\n
A \u201cgaping hole\u201d in port security<\/p>\n
Organised crime expert and member of the government\u2019s advisory group on transnational, serious and organised crime (TSOC), Jarrod Gilbert, said New Zealand\u2019s port security is lagging far behind international standards. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are dreadfully behind the eight ball in this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the only Five Eyes country not to have a national strategy around it. And I think it is a gaping hole – and it\u2019s a hole that is creating porous borders that transnational organised crime groups are flowing through, and that has devastating consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilbert said New Zealand was being deliberately targeted. <\/p>\n
\u201cInternational organised crime groups don\u2019t care where the money comes from – they just want the money. If you can target countries that are not as well protected, that\u2019s exactly where you\u2019re going,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we look weak, it invites this kind of activity – and we are weak.\u201d<\/p>\n
Port security is jointly managed by Customs, Maritime New Zealand and port operators – but the responsibilities of each entity can be \u201cambiguous\u201d, according to a briefing note to Customs Minister Casey Costello.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Associate Transport Minister James Meager says he is looking at tighter security measures. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
The document, released to 1News under the Official Information Act, also highlights that while each port has an approved security plan, there is no national standard. <\/p>\n
It warns that a lack of consistency and employee vetting is \u201cinadequate to deal with the significant and evolving TSOC risks, particularly trusted insiders\u201d. <\/p>\n
Government acknowledges \u201cdisparity\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of its newly announced methamphetamine action plan, Associate Transport Minister James Meager said officials were consulting with port operators on tighter security measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at how we treat our airports compared to our seaports, there\u2019s a disparity there,\u201d Meager said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking at what we can do in terms of background checks on workers, strengthening access to the ports, and unifying the security systems.\u201d <\/p>\n
Having a single identification card for people working in and around ports was another option being looked at. <\/p>\n
Meager added port operators have raised concerns about their limited powers to vet third-party contractors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have limited regulatory tools and laws that they can enforce in order to make sure that the people who are working on their ports are of good character and don’t have links to the criminal underworld,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve asked for assistance in that area, and we\u2019re keen to help strengthen that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Zealand\u2019s ports are under growing pressure as organised criminal networks carry out increasingly brazen break-ins to retrieve…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135007,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[67,111,43,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-135006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-crime-and-justice","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}