A 27-year-old Chinese man has been arrested and charged after NZ Customs intercepted a number of concealed drug packages coming into the country.
The accused, who has not been named by customs, appeared at Manukau District Court today accused of importing at least 17 packages containing Class B and A drugs.
He faces 16 charges of importing a Class B drug and one charge of importing a Class A drug.
Customs officers say the packages contained MDMA, methamphetamine and ephedrine - a precursor to methamphetamine.
The drugs had been seized by frontline customs officers between July of 2019 and February this year, and had been send from various countries across Europe.
Customs said they were concealed inside of objects including LED lights, clothing, ornaments, toys, cosmetics and thermos flasks.
Search warrants were executed on Friday, and the man was arrested at an east Auckland address.
Customs investigations manager Bruce Berry said "we believe the man arrested had played a significant role in MDMA smuggling and distribution".
"While methamphetamine remains the main type of drug seized at our border and customs' focus, we equally maintain an interest in catching those involved in smuggling MDMA."
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