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New Zealand seizes 6.74 mln USD smuggle drugs hidden in toys

Xinhua, October 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

New Zealand authorities have stopped a multi-million-dollar drugs haul hidden in thousands of plastic toys sent from China, police and Customs officers said Tuesday.

A 25 year-old man has been charged after almost 10 million NZ dollars (6.74 million U.S. dollars) worth of ephedrine, a precursor to methamphetamine, was found stuffed in the toys that arrived in a shipping container.

The amount of ephedrine had the potential to produce more than 60 kilograms of methamphetamine, with a street value of up to 60 million NZ dollars (40.44 million U.S. dollars), said Detective Inspector Bruce Good, of the New Zealand Police.

"This is a huge amount that had the potential to cause serious social harm to our community," Good said in a statement.

Customs intelligence, investigations and enforcement group manager Jamie Bamford said in the statement that Customs was focused on breaking the illicit supply chain, and had several systems in place to target shipments before they even arrived.

The man was charged with illegally importing the drug and was due to appear in the Auckland District Court Tuesday. Endit