New Zealand biosecurity officers hand out 4,000 infringements this summer

WELLINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's border biosecurity defenders have just been through their busiest summer, handing out nearly 4,000 infringements to passengers with undeclared goods that could harbor disease pests or diseases, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said on Friday.

Most of these were for undeclared fresh produce, which can carry destructive fruit fly species, it said.

MPI biosecurity officers screened some 2 million passenger arrivals for risk goods between December 2017 and February 2018, a 5-percent increase on last summer, the statement said.

"It was a hectic few months, but we came into the season well prepared for the rush, including employing more than 70 new officers during the year," said MPI border clearance director Steve Gilbert.

"We made 10 fruit fly interceptions during the summer. This proves the worth of our biosecurity defences, given the damage these insects can do to New Zealand horticulture," he said.

MPI officers also made record seizures of brown marmorated stink bugs with more than 180 interceptions and more than 2,000 individual bugs detected. It has increased its scrutiny of cargo arriving from countries where the pest is established, with the number of consignments targeted for inspection increasing more than 100 percent.

"There has been a huge spike in stink bug detections on imported vehicles and machinery from Japan that has so far resulted in four carriers being turned away from New Zealand this season," Gilbert said. Enditem