A man who allegedly left Auckland and travelled to Wānaka during the super city's COVID-19 alert level 4 lockdown is the son of a high-ranking public official, Newshub understands.
The man, 35, and a 26-year-old woman crossed the Auckland level 4 border using essential worker exemptions, drove to Hamilton Airport and then flew to their holiday home in Wānaka.
Newshub has learned the man is the son of a senior official.
The couple will be issued with a summons to appear in court in the coming week. They have hired City Chambers lawyer Rachael Reed QC to represent them.
Speaking on Monday, Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Jim Boult said he felt "pretty filthy" about the couple's actions.
"Folk doing these things are not only a danger to the health of people in this part of the world but we are also holding onto our economic livelihood by our fingernails at the present time.
"If we ended up in another lockdown situation like Auckland is going through at the present time, it would be the end of a lot of businesses in our part of the world.
"It's a very selfish thing to do."
Police confirmed the couple would be charged with breaching the Health Order, by failing to return to their place of residence within the alert level 4 area after leaving for approved essential personal movement.
