Children's pillows and cans of porridge oats hiding methamphetamine are among the items smugglers have tried to bring into the country over the past year.
Ephedrine pressed as mints. Photo: New Zealand Customs Service
The Customs Service said illegal drugs had been found in all manner of objects, including a footstool, a rice cooker, a cheap ceramic statue, a tin of carwax, and thermostats.
Ceramic statue with $1 million of methamphetamine inside. Photo: New Zealand Customs Service
The drugs included methamphetamine, said a Customs Manager, Jonathan Morten.
"If drugs can be hidden in it, criminals will try it, but Customs stays one step ahead by building an intelligence picture of what the criminals are up to, and spoiling their plans at the border," he said.
"Smugglers are using more complex methods, and will go to a great deal of cost and effort to get their product through."
This was particularly true of international, more organised syndicates, he said.
Last year Customs destroyed 1230 kilograms of class A, B and C drugs along with their packaging.
Items found by Customs in the past 12 months
- Children's pillows stuffed with drugs
- A can of porridge oats containing a 3.5g packet of methamphetamine
- A 2kg box of mints that was a stash of ephedrine
- Over 2kg of Contac NT inside a footstool
- Inside a rice cooker was a bag with grains of Contac NT
- A cheap ceramic statue hid $1 million of P
- Tins of car wax revealed drugs inside
- Thermostats contained Contac NT
Contac NT inside temperature controllers. Photo: New Zealand Customs Service
Pseudoephedrine in pillows. Photo: New Zealand Customs Service
Ephedrine in soles of shoes. Photo: New Zealand Customs Service
