In brief
New Zealand police seized 250 kg of cocaine, worth an estimated 45 million U.S. dollars, in a container that entered through the Port of Tauranga. Five men were arrested and later searches uncovered firearms, linking the operation to an organized crime group. The seizure followed a earlier bust of 137 kg of cocaine in the Auckland region.
New Zealand police seized 250 kg of cocaine, valued at about 45 million U.S. dollars, from a shipping container that entered the country from Brazil through the Port of Tauranga, according to a statement released on Friday.
The container, originally loaded in Brazil, had been transported to Auckland under close monitoring by customs before the authorities conducted a joint operation with the New Zealand Police.
During the raid, four men, aged 29 to 41, were taken into custody early the previous Thursday after an attempt to transfer the cocaine from the container to a van; a fifth man was arrested nearby as a potential lookout.
Following the arrests, investigators executed six search warrants across Auckland, locating four high‑powered firearms at one address and arresting an additional individual.
The five suspects have now been charged with possession of cocaine for supply, possession of firearms and participation in an organised criminal group, and they appeared in the Auckland District Court.
New Zealand’s drug‑fighting unit also seized 137 kg of cocaine in the Auckland region earlier that week, marking a second major bust in a short period.
