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Summarised by Centrist
New Zealand’s border drug problem is getting worse, not better.
A Cabinet paper obtained by Newstalk ZB shows drug interceptions more than quadrupled from 1.5 tonnes in 2018 to 6.5 tonnes in 2024, while the amount seized at Auckland Airport in just the first four months of last year was already higher than the total seized across all airports for the whole of 2024.
Customs Minister Casey Costello says New Zealand is “being hit hard”, with supply chains, technology and falling production costs making the country an increasingly attractive target for organised crime. “This idea that New Zealand used to be far away and that we are somewhat isolated – that’s not the case anymore,” she said.
Officials estimate illicit drug harm costs the country $36.7 million a week, or about $1.9 billion a year, while organised drug crime and fraud generates around $1.6 billion in annual profit.
Costello says meth remains especially attractive to cartels because New Zealand has some of the highest retail prices in the Western world. The drugs are coming through every available channel, including parcels, freight, couriers, airports and unaccompanied baggage.
The government says it is stepping up coordination, boosting Customs funding, improving information sharing and using a broader anti-crime strategy aimed not just at drugs, but also at facilitators, money mules and supply chain enablers.
“We’re not winning, but I wouldn’t say we’re losing,” Costello said.
