A 29-year-old Canadian girl is dealing with costs in New Zealand after customs authorities say she was caught with 10.2 kilograms of methamphetamine inside her carry-on baggage at an Auckland airport, with the contraband wrapped as if it belonged below a Christmas tree.
The New Zealand Customs Service issued a news release Tuesday saying the lady took a flight from Vancouver to Auckland, arriving within the North Island metropolis on Dec. 8.
The person was questioned after touchdown in Auckland, the customs service mentioned. Officers searched her bag and allegedly discovered the medicine inside it.
The lady was not recognized by title within the launch issued by the customs service.
The customs service mentioned the lady faces “costs of importation and possession for provide of a Class A managed drug” and that she appeared in Auckland’s Manukau District Court docket on these identical costs and has since been remanded into custody.
In a press release, Paul Williams, the customs supervisor of the Auckland airport, informed CBC Information that additional data is not going to be launched concerning the investigation, which is ongoing.
International Affairs Canada mentioned it was conscious of the arrest of a Canadian in New Zealand. The division mentioned it was monitoring the scenario intently and offering consular help. It declined to supply additional remark, citing privateness issues.
The Canadian Air Transport Safety Authority — the Crown corporation chargeable for safety screening at greater than 80 Canadian airports, including Vancouver International Airport — informed CBC Information in an e-mail that it was “not conscious” of the investigation in New Zealand and as such has no details about it.
Latest arrests of Canadians
The New Zealand Customs Service has publicly reported at the least two prior incidents this yr involving Canadians flying out of Vancouver, touchdown in New Zealand, after which being arrested on allegations they had been ferrying methamphetamine to the island nation.
One case concerned a 27-year-old male who travelled overseas in August, whereas one other concerned a 27-year-old feminine who flew to Auckland in late October. The customs service had referred to each of those people as alleged drug couriers.
Williams mentioned the New Zealand Customs Service is paying shut consideration to all of those occasions.
“Customs acknowledges the worth of linking all these intercepts to construct an image of rising border tendencies,” Williams mentioned within the assertion despatched to CBC Information.
“Extra collaborative work is being finished with our Canadian companions to disrupt felony gangs and the importation of medication, together with by way of the passenger stream.”
There are cases of Canadians serving long sentences for drug-related offences in New Zealand.
A Canadian man in his 30s was handed a nine-year and nine-month sentence in Might after being convicted of importing a Class A managed drug. On the time of his arrest, the customs service had stated that he was a Canadian national. He’d been caught with practically 26 kilograms of methamphetamine that police mentioned was hidden inside the lining of his suitcases.
Canadians have additionally allegedly been caught with methamphetamine inside their baggage Down Underneath in latest months, according to the Australian Federal Police. In separate instances in October, a 59-year-old man was arrested at an airport in Brisbane and a 38-year-old man was arrested in Sydney.
Each had flown to Australia from Vancouver and each had a number of kilograms of methamphetamine hidden of their baggage, based on police.
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