The defendant was lured by the prospect of easy money amid financial setbacks that had started during the Covid-19 pandemic, Newell said, explaining that his client was desperate to support his wife and children while trying to hold down leases for properties he could no longer afford. <\/p>\n
Wei Xu, accompanied by a Chinese interpreter, appears for sentencing in North Shore District Court after pleading guilty to defrauding Customs. Photo \/ Craig Kapitan<\/p>\n
\u201cYou experienced poverty as a child \u2013 that shaped you as an adult,\u201d the judge later added, noting that Xu\u2019s parents had been poor labourers in China. \u201cYou always felt pressure to achieve and a sense of inferiority given your humble beginnings.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ordered the first-time offender to serve 11 months\u2019 home detention. <\/p>\n
Cat litter and face towels<\/p>\n
Xu, who has lived in New Zealand for 18 years, established RMPS International Limited in 2016. The company did legitimate business that included freight transportation, warehouse storage and Customs clearance. <\/p>\n
But authorities started noticing irregularities<\/a> in 2024. <\/p>\n The first was a shipment of 24,000 vapes concealed among flooring panels that had been sent from New Zealand to Australia in September that year. <\/p>\n Although there is no customs duty on vapes in New Zealand, there is one in Australia, prompting authorities there to reject and return the shipment. <\/p>\n Later that month, the first of three shipments with concealed cigarettes arrived in New Zealand via Xu\u2019s business. It was listed as containing \u201chousehold effects\u201d but also hidden inside were 596,000 cigarettes and 187kg of loose tobacco. <\/p>\n About one month later, a shipment from China listed as containing cat litter and face towels was found to have 560,000 undeclared cigarettes. Days later, a shipment from Cambodia that was supposed to contain various cosmetic products was found to contain 1.5 million undeclared cigarettes. <\/p>\n Search warrants were obtained a short time later. <\/p>\n Customs has arrested an Auckland businessman after 2 million cigarettes were smuggled into the country this week. The illicit tobacco was seized following information from overseas border partners about two sea freight containers headed for NZ. Read more: https:\/\/t.co\/uItO2Fflh6<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/f6Zf5BzjVz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 New Zealand Customs Service (@NZ_Customs) November 1, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n When interviewed by authorities on the day of the search warrant, Xu claimed ignorance that the shipments had contained contraband. He suggested he had been duped by a person named \u201cAndy\u201d, whom he claimed to have met in China a year earlier. <\/p>\n But evidence obtained during the search suggested he knew about the cigarettes, and he later pleaded guilty to all charges. <\/p>\n Family punished<\/p>\n Xu could have faced up to five years\u2019 imprisonment and fines of up to $20,000 for three counts of defrauding Customs of revenue. He also faced sentences of up to six months for multiple counts of importing prohibited goods and knowingly making an erroneous entry for an import or export. <\/p>\n His lawyer noted that his risk of re-offending has been assessed as low as long as he continues to receive psychological help. <\/p>\n He\u2019s expressed remorse for his actions and put his money where his mouth is by making a $5000 donation to charity, Newell said. <\/p>\n \u201cThere have been significant consequences to him, and they will be ongoing,\u201d he added, noting that his client already spent a month in jail between the time of his arrest and when bail was granted. <\/p>\n But even if the judge was to determine a sentence of two years or less \u2013 at which point alternative non-custodial options can be considered \u2013 a prison sentence would be most fitting because denunciation and deterrence were needed, the Crown argued. <\/p>\n \u201cThis was sophisticated offending,\u201d Zhang said, noting that Xu made around $150,000 in ATM cash deposits around the time of the imports. \u201cThis was offending in which clearly Mr Xu sought profit.\u201d <\/p>\n After factoring in reductions for Xu\u2019s guilty pleas, remorse, prior good character, his background and the impact a sentence of imprisonment would have on his children, the judge reached a provisional sentence of exactly two years. <\/p>\n In deciding to convert it to 11 months\u2019 home detention, followed by six months of post-detention conditions, he noted that Xu remained the primary caregiver and income earner for his family. <\/p>\n \u201cYour family situation is really what makes the difference,\u201d Judge Murray explained, adding that prison \u201cwould be punishing them for what you did\u201d. <\/p>\nCustoms has seized two million undeclared cigarettes at the border.<\/p>\n
Import company owner Wei Xu stands in the dock at North Shore District Court for sentencing in January 2026 after admitting to a scheme in which he tried to smuggle millions of cigarettes into New Zealand. Photo \/ Craig Kapitan<\/p>\n
Customs has seized two million undeclared cigarettes at the border.<\/p>\n