Accused smugglers of 110kg of meth in golf buggy batteries keep names secret for now

Customs found 110kg of meth hiding inside a golf cart, with firearms also discovered in the haul.

Two men charged with bringing more than 100 kilograms of meth and a pair of handguns into New Zealand smuggled into golf buggy batteries have been told they can keep their identities hidden, for now.

Both have entered not guilty pleas and elected jury trials.

One of the men is in the country on a business visa, while the other has no visa after their student visa expired late last year.

Customs announced the 100 kilogram seizure today as they announced the arrests of the 27-year-old man from China and a 39-year-old man from Taiwan.

Officials say the seized drugs is worth the same as $136.3m in social harm.

The arrests were made after Customs inspected a shipping container with three six-seat golf carts inside which were exported from the US.

Customs says a closer look revealed the batteries hid large meth crystals and two handguns.

The arrests came after search warrants at addresses in West and South Auckland over the weekend.

The two men were waiting to appear in the Auckland District Court as Customs was showing off the haul to media elsewhere. 

Family members from China of one of the men were in court to support him.

Lawyers for both men asked for their identities to be suppressed. 

One lawyer argued that his client's family and business associates were yet to made aware of the charges and court case.

The lawyer said his client had a seriously ill grandmother who had "no idea what is going on".

He also argued a family member's business could be badly affected of his client's name was made public at this stage.

The lawyer for the other accused man also argued for suppression.

"His family is in an overseas jurisdiction - he doesn't really understand what is being said," the lawyer said.

Both men wore plain clothing - one a t-shirt and the other a casual jacket.

In granting name suppression for a week, the judge said she was doing so because an interpreter was not available for one of the men and she was of the view that while the man was physically in court, he was not actually "appearing before the court" because he could not properly take part.

Regarding the other accused man, she said she expected the man's relatives to be told of his case over the coming week.

Both men are due back in the Auckland District Court next week. The older man is being kept in custody by his own consent, the 27-year-old is being held in custody after failing in his application for bail.

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