Immigration says three German yachties showed "a blatant disregard" for the country's laws when they sailed to New Zealand despite having their border application declined.
They had applied for a border exemption from the Ministry of Health, but it was refused.
They continued their journey anyway, and on Friday the trio sailed into Opua in the Bay of Islands where they were met by Customs officials and detained.
Peter Elms is Immigration New Zealand's border and visa operations manager.
