{"id":377148,"date":"2026-04-13T09:51:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/377148\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:51:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:51:07","slug":"port-of-tauranga-cocaine-bust-customs-seizes-48kg-in-container-roof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/377148\/","title":{"rendered":"Port of Tauranga cocaine bust: Customs seizes 48kg in container roof"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis method of concealment signals the lengths crime groups are going to in attempting to move drugs through the supply chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt reflects a deliberate effort to exploit commercial pathways and reinforces that while we are making it harder for them, we must constantly evolve how we detect and disrupt these threats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AboutAbout 48kg of cocaine was found inside a shipping container at the Port of Tauranga. Photo \/ Customs NZ<\/p>\n

Campbell said this result demonstrates the skill and commitment of Customs officers, whose rigorous and ongoing training together with supporting technology enables them to identify complex concealments of drugs. <\/p>\n

\u201cCustoms will continue to apply sustained pressure at the maritime border and is committed to making New Zealand\u2019s seaports a hostile environment for criminal networks.\u201d <\/p>\n

Customs urges industry workers and the public to remain vigilant and play a part in stopping organised crime. <\/p>\n

Suspicions about potential drug smuggling can be reported confidentially to 0800 WE PROTECT (0800 937 768) or anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. <\/p>\n

Cocaine use in NZ<\/p>\n

Until relatively recently, cocaine was something of a rarity in New Zealand, said Massey University Professor Chris Wilkins, leader of the drug research team at Shore & Whariki Research Centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn those times that you most associate with cocaine in the 80s and 90s, New Zealand really didn\u2019t have almost any cocaine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But things have changed and a global glut has led to a surge in demand in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

Police recently released wastewater testing figures that showed cocaine use has hit an all-time high<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The latest wastewater figures were collected between October and December last year, and testing sites cover up to 77% of Aotearoa\u2019s total population.<\/p>\n

While cocaine use is lower overall than methamphetamine or cannabis, it\u2019s the size of the rise that has drawn attention.<\/p>\n

Cocaine nearly doubled in a year, rising to an estimated 9.4kg of use per week \u2013 98%, or 4.7kg, above the average amount consumed in the previous four quarters, according to the figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seen as a lucrative albeit small market\u201d for cocaine dealers, New Zealand Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm said.<\/p>\n

NZ Police Assistant Commissioner Corrie Parnell told RNZ in April there\u2019s a \u201cstrong demand\u201d for cocaine.<\/p>\n

The New Zealand Drug Trends Survey is an anonymous online survey of 8883 people conducted in 2025 and designed to provide an annual snapshot of drug market trends. It\u2019s not a representative sample but is described as \u201cbroadly representing the demographic profile and regional population distribution\u201d of New Zealand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThis method of concealment signals the lengths crime groups are going to in attempting to move drugs through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[196647,29950,20926,50905,17899,78,111,43,139,69,1118,29268,66146,29936,1227],"class_list":{"0":"post-377148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-48kg","9":"tag-bust","10":"tag-cocaine","11":"tag-container","12":"tag-customs","13":"tag-in","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-newzealand","17":"tag-nz","18":"tag-of","19":"tag-port","20":"tag-roof","21":"tag-seizes","22":"tag-tauranga"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377148","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=377148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}