23/10/2025
Four Chinese nationals are due in court after Customs uncovered more than a tonne of tobacco.
Investigators found an estimated 1,200 kilograms of loose tobacco in a storage unit yesterday during search warrants in Auckland.
Cigarettes were also found at a home, along with bags of methaphetamine.
A cannabis grow-house was found at another address which has now been dismantled.
“Customs enquiries following the arrest in August identified four suspects involved in receiving previous air cargo consignments from China that were believed to contain illicit tobacco,” Chief Customs Officer for Fraud and Prohibition Nigel Barnes said.
“What we’re seeing is an example of the current scale of organised tobacco smuggling happening in New Zealand.”
Barnes said the haul follows almost a million cigarettes being seized in August.
Customs identified suspects involved in receiving air cargo from China that was believed to contain illicit tobacco.