Police have arrested seven people and seized around $38 million worth of drugs in a major operation targetting the importation of cocaine into New Zealand.
Named 'Operation Depot', it was a month-long joint investigation between Police and Customs into a drug syndicate alleged to have imported at least 190 kilograms of cocaine into the country.
Police made the discovery after search warrants were executed across a number of properties in Auckland this week.
A large amount of cocaine was found at a commercial address in New Lynn, Auckland. It had allegedly been hidden in a boiler imported out of Ecuador, a police spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.
Seven people aged between 21 and 37 have been arrested and face multiple charges relating to the importation and possession for supply of cocaine, as well as participating in an organised criminal group.
Police added four people are set to appear in Auckland District Court on Tuesday.
Three people have already Auckland District Court and are expected to reappear in the coming months.
National Organised Crime Group's Detective Inspector Paul Newman said the seizure was a significant find.
"Organised crime groups are investing increasingly large amounts of money and resources to conceal drugs as they come across the border."
Det Insp Newman added organised criminal groups try to exploit the weaknesses in the police system and the results of this discovery demonstrate that Police and New Zealand Customs are well-aligned to respond to this threat.
"This was a very sophisticated method of concealment with excellent collaboration of border authorities, which was key to identifying and flagging this import as suspicious."
Customs investigations manager Cam Moore applauded the cooperation between Customs, Police and the National Organised Crime Group.
"This has been a complex and methodical collaboration of our agencies to break up a significant criminal operation and stop what we believe could have been a substantial amount of harm in our communities."
A police spokesperson said the investigation is ongoing and they cannot rule out the possibility of further seizures and arrests.
