• More than 100kg of cocaine was seized at Auckland International Airport, the largest airport find in New Zealand history.
• The Class A drug’s estimated street value was $35.4 million, with potential social harm of $37.8m
• Customs’ Dana McDonald noted increasing seizures, with 183kg of drugs seized this year.

More than 100kg of cocaine has been busted in a smuggler’s bags at Auckland International Airport.

Customs believes the 101kg found over the weekend is the largest amount of cocaine found at a New Zealand airport.

And Customs is concerned the number of their seizures at the airport had been steadily increasing in recent years, group manager for border operations Dana McDonald said.

The estimated street value of the Class A drug was $35.4 million, and would have caused $37.8m in social harm to New Zealand’s communities.

More than 100kg of cocaine has been busted by Customs on Saturday, 15 February, 2025, in a smuggler’s bags at Auckland International Airport. Photo / Customs

Customs officers were doing routine border enforcement when they checked a number of bags arriving off a Hawaiian Airlines flight on Saturday night.

Officers found 85 bricks of a substance wrapped in black film and clear plastic wrapping. Tests returned a positive result for cocaine.

Customs believes the 101kg found over the weekend is the largest amount of cocaine found at a New Zealand Airport. Photo / Customs

McDonald applauded her frontline officers for the find.

“Customs officers are highly trained and cognisant of how transnational organised criminal groups operate. We work hard to stop the supply of illegal drugs, with an aim to hit criminal profits, reduce the ability to cultivate user demand, and disrupt their goal to exploit New Zealand communities,” she said.

Officers found 85 bricks of a substance wrapped in black film and clear plastic wrapping. Tests returned a positive result for cocaine. Photo / Customs

“While this seizure is a fantastic result that has stopped a significant amount of drugs from reaching and harming our communities, what is of Customs concern is that seizures at Auckland Airport have increased steadily in recent years. We have adapted accordingly to this threat.

“In the first two months of this year, Customs officers at Auckland Airport have already seized over 183 kilograms of drugs, which highlights the important role we play in protecting New Zealand as well as the environment we operate in,” McDonald says.

Inquiries into Saturday’s seizure were ongoing.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.