Customs and the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) have seized a 7kg shipment of cocaine attached to the side of a ship’s hull with a magnet.
The joint operation was launched in April after Customs received information that a commercial vessel, heading to New Zealand, had a box attached to its stern, which was not part of the ship’s structure.
Customs maritime as well as RNZN dive and explosives experts were involved in the operation.
“As the vessel approached New Zealand, Customs maintained regular contact with the ship’s captain and agents, working together to monitor the attachment and report suspicious activity,” a statement from Customs read.
“Customs, the Navy and the shipping line agreed on a plan to intercept the vessel approximately 50 nautical miles off New Zealand’s coast using Customs’ patrol vessel Hawk V.”
Customs said the ship was escorted to a safe location just outside Auckland, where Customs “coordinated with Navy ordnance experts and divers, who used an uncrewed surface vessel and an aerial drone to monitor and inspect the box”.
The box was removed from the ship’s hull and transferred to a safe location on land, where it was able to be opened.
It contained an electromagnet, which held it to the ship, and was packed with seven kilograms of cocaine, worth up to $3.15 million in New Zealand.
