Two gang associates who attempted to enter Auckland with over $100,000 in cash and a car boot full of KFC have been arrested.
A police spokesperson said officers patrolling the back roads near Auckland's southern boundary had noticed a suspicious-looking vehicle travelling on a gravel road.
"Upon seeing the police car, the vehicle did a U-turn and sped off trying to evade police," they said.
"The vehicle eventually pulled over and police established they had been travelling from Hamilton trying to get into Auckland. The vehicle was searched and police located the cash, alongside empty ounce bags and a large amount of takeaways."
Both men, aged 23 and 30, have been summonsed to appear in court for breaching the Health Order. Further charges are likely.
The police spokesperson said the pair were some of a "small number" of people who were deliberately flouting New Zealand's alert level restrictions.
In another incident on Auckland's northern boundary, police turned around a man who claimed he wanted to cross the border to charge his electric vehicle, despite there not being a charge station where he said he was going.
"Police want to remind the public that police will continue to stop and question motorists travelling through the checkpoints, and enforcement action will be considered for people deliberately attempting to breach the restrictions," the spokesperson said.
"Police will also be patrolling rural and backroads to ensure people are not trying to use them as a way through boundaries."
Since alert level 4 came into place, in Auckland 86 people have been charged with a total of 90 offences as at 5pm Sunday.
Of those:
- Seventy-three are for Failing to Comply with Order (COVID-19),
- Fourteen for Failure to Comply with Direction/Prohibition/Restriction,
- One for Failing to Stop (COVID-19-related),
- Two for Assaults/Threatens/Hinders/Obstructs Enforcement Officer.
In the same time period, 183 people were also formally warned for a range of offences.
Police have also so far received a total of 9767 online reports relating to businesses, mass gatherings or people in Auckland.
At Auckland's checkpoints, as of Sunday 11:59pm, a total of 180,339 vehicles have now been stopped and a total of 2286 vehicles have been turned around.
