A 29-year-old Canadian woman is facing charges 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 under a Christmas tree.
The New Zealand Customs Service issued a news release Tuesday saying the woman took a flight from Vancouver to Auckland, arriving in the North Island city on Dec. 8.
The individual was questioned after landing in Auckland, the customs service said. Officers searched her bag and allegedly found the drugs inside it.
The woman was not identified by name in the release issued by the customs service.
The customs service said the woman faces “charges of importation and possession for supply of a Class A controlled drug” and that she appeared in Auckland’s Manukau District Court on these same charges and has since been remanded into custody.
In a statement, Paul Williams, the customs manager of the Auckland airport, told CBC News that further information will not be released about the investigation, which is ongoing.
Global Affairs Canada said it was aware of the arrest of a Canadian in New Zealand. The department said it was monitoring the situation closely and providing consular assistance. It declined to provide further comment, citing privacy considerations.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority — the Crown corporation responsible for security screening at more than 80 Canadian airports, including Vancouver International Airport — told CBC News in an email that it was “not aware” of the investigation in New Zealand and as such has no information about it.
Recent arrests of Canadians
The New Zealand Customs Service has publicly reported at least two prior incidents this year involving Canadians flying out of Vancouver, landing in New Zealand, and then being arrested on allegations they were ferrying methamphetamine to the island country.
One case involved a 27-year-old male who travelled overseas in August, while another involved a 27-year-old female who flew to Auckland in late October. The customs service had referred to both of these individuals as alleged drug couriers.
Williams said the New Zealand Customs Service is paying close attention to all of these events.
“Customs recognizes the value of linking all these intercepts to build a picture of emerging border trends,” Williams said in the statement sent to CBC News.
“More collaborative work is being done with our Canadian partners to disrupt criminal gangs and the importation of drugs, including through the passenger stream.”
Last year, authorities in Australia, Canada and New Zealand worked together to bust what the New Zealand Customs Service described as “an elaborate scheme” that sought to send large quantities of methamphetamine overseas — coming from Canada — by hiding it in maple syrup containers.
Long sentences for some drug convictions
There are instances 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 May after being convicted of importing a Class A controlled drug. At the time of his arrest, the customs service had stated that he was a Canadian national. He’d been caught with nearly 26 kilograms of methamphetamine that police said was hidden within the lining of his suitcases.
Canadians have also allegedly been caught with methamphetamine inside their luggage Down Under in recent months, according to the Australian Federal Police. In separate cases in October, a 59-year-old man was arrested at an airport in Brisbane and a 38-year-old man was arrested in Sydney.
Both had flown to Australia from Vancouver and both had multiple kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in their luggage, according to police.
