20 Jan 2016

Man charged with importing $1.5m worth of meth into NZ

3:23 pm on 20 January 2016

A man accused of trying to carry more than a million dollars worth of methamphetamine into New Zealand earlier today has appeared in the Wellington District Court.

Yoram Kalev, 48, has been charged with importing methamphetamine into New Zealand and possession of methamphetamine for supply.

He had travelled to New Zealand from Hong Kong and arrived in Wellington on a flight from Sydney early this morning.

The Customs service says Mr Kalev was questioned and his bags were searched and officers found 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of around $1.5 million hidden inside two neck pillows in his possession.

Mr Kalev entered no plea to the charges and was remanded in custody to reappear in Court later this month.

Customs investigations manager Maurice O'Brien has praised the work of officers involved in discovering the methamphetamine.

"Our intelligence-led approach has removed another large amount of methamphetamine from the drug supply chain preventing substantial harm to our communities. It is a very good result."