Police say crime groups are “really targeting New Zealand”, following a multimillion-dollar international drug operation they have foiled which included importing methamphetamine hidden in maple syrup bottles.

Detective Superintendent Greg Williams, who directs the National Organised Crime Group, told media this afternoon there were “massive profits” for these groups here.

January’s seizure, which was revealed this morning, was the biggest at New Zealand’s border by more than 100kg, said Williams.

“We’ve seen a surge coming down this way. It’s no great surprise we were alerted earlier this year of a shipment of 713kg of meth that was coming in by ship freight.

 “It’s kind of sad in some ways that we keep coming and saying we’re getting bigger and bigger seizures.”

The operation was upended by New Zealand, Australian and Canadian authorities working together.

The shipment of maple syrup from Canada was found to be concealing 713kg of methamphetamine, which police estimated had a street value of $250 million and would produce around 35 million doses.

It was part of a wider shipment of methamphetamine bound for the Australasian market and New Zealand police worked alongside New Zealand Customs Service on the interception.

The methamphetamine was concealed in bottles of maple syrup. Photo / NZ Police

Police had to wait for Australian authorities to identify their offenders before they could release news of the New Zealand meth bust, Williams said this afternoon.

“It’s huge, it’s almost a year’s supply of methamphetamine based on wastewater data from January this year.”

Customs NZ Investigations Manager Cam Moore said it takes a network to defeat a network.

“We are very much deliberate and intentional with the way that we operate not only in intelligence and intelligence sharing but also the way we place our liaison officers in key areas around the globe.

“The information flow that we collect goes both ways.”

New Zealand has also helped our allies intercept meth shipments, he said. Customs was always open to receiving information on possible drug importation.

He said 6.2 tonne of drugs had been seized at the border year to date, he said, including a mixture of different types.

Williams said meth can be made into liquid and recrystallised after importation. But in this case, the meth was in crystal form, found inside maple syrup bottles.

“We have been seeing this for a while, there’s a variety of ways, they’ll try anything.

“Anything that’s getting put into what apparently looks like food or drink is absolutely concern... but you’ve got to understand, these people don’t care... this is all about money and greed.”

This syndicate involved was a different syndicate to those involved in meth that was coming in as kombucha earlier this year, he said.

Over recent years, police have seen “massive sophistication” in the way criminal groups operate, he said.

“That’s what we battle.”

Operation Regis intercepted more than 700 kilograms of methamphetamine earlier in 2023. Methamphetamine was concealed in bottles of maple syrup. Photo / NZ Police

Since 2017 police have routed out 26 international crime cells that have been implanted in New Zealand.

“It’s hammering our communities.”

International crime groups understood the strength in producing synthetics such as meth, because it was cheap to produce, didn’t require plants, and was incredibly addictive.

“We’ve said in the past that the amount of seizure that we’re seeing seems to far out surpass the amount we’re seeing in consumption.”

Moore said this shipment was caught due to intelligence from Canadian authorities.

Williams said with major jobs such as these, police would sit down with Customs to talk about who was taking the lead.

Detective Superintendent Greg Williams (speaking) and Customs NZ investigations manager Cam Moore.

“Not only is it about us understanding who’s operating in New Zealand, we also have a pretty good understanding of who’s operating offshore.”

Williams said they had no issue reaching out to bring those people back in and hold them accountable.

Arrests

Earlier today police said in February, five men aged between 22 and 45 - all New Zealanders - were arrested at a rural property near Helensville when they took possession of the bulk of the consignment.

A sixth man, aged 28, was also arrested when he sought to take possession of the remainder of the consignment.

Police said they were due to reappear in the North Shore and Auckland District Courts “in due course”.

Operation Regis intercepted more than 700kg of methamphetamine. Photo / NZ Police

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said it was the largest drug bust at New Zealand’s border and authorities cannot afford to relax.

“The international drug trade and organised crime groups are creating havoc and harm in communities around the globe, and our best opportunity to disrupt, intercept and keep our communities safe is to work collaboratively with other agencies, and other nations,” said Coster.

“This seizure of nearly three-quarters of a tonne shows the effectiveness of working across borders.”

Coster said the bust will help to combat the harm methamphetamine causes to our communities.

“Had this shipment been distributed across New Zealand it would have caused immense harm to the vulnerable communities these criminal groups were preying upon.

“We know that drugs are a major driver of crime in New Zealand, and we see first-hand how damaging the impact of addiction in our communities is.”

Had the drugs not been seized, police estimated the meth would have caused close to $800m worth of social harm, according to drug harm index figures.

New Zealand Customs controller Christine Stevenson said transnational organised crime groups are increasingly undertaking large-scale drug smuggling attempts at the border.

“It points to the determination of these criminals to peddle their harm in our communities for their own personal wealth and at the expense of our communities, regardless of the damage to social, health and wider economic wellbeing.”

Drug hauls

• March 2, 2022: Customs seized 613kg of methamphetamine at Auckland Airport.
• March 16: Customs seized more than 700kg of cocaine, which was smuggled in a shipping container that arrived at the Port of Tauranga.
• February 2023: The combined Police, Customs and New Zealand Defence Force “Operation Hydros” recovered 3.2 tonnes of cocaine from the Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand.
• March: 83kg of meth was found concealed in pallets which had arrived at Napier Port from South Africa.

The interception of drugs disguised as maple syrup follows a trend of food-related drug busts recently.

A large-scale investigation began after 21-year-old Aiden Sagala died on March 7 in Auckland City Hospital after drinking the meth-laced beer.

A shipment of kombucha bottles was among pallets of drug-laced beer cans seized by police in the 328kg meth bust following the death.

Recently, a multi-agency international investigation was launched after a suspicious shipment that contained 18 pallets of canola oil in a shipment destined for Melbourne from Canada.

A staggering three tonnes of methamphetamine was discovered in the shipment.