NZ Customs Release

Nine new Detector Dog Handlers and their dogs from across the Pacific and New Zealand graduated yesterday at the Police Dog Training Centre in Trentham.

The teams celebrated the occasion in front of whanau and friends, executives from New Zealand Police with officials from the New Zealand Customs Service, Aviation Security Service New Zealand, and New Caledonia Customs.

Customs Deputy Chief Executive International and Governance, Joe Cannon, highlighted the importance of this long-running Pacific Detector Dog Programme and its role in building ongoing enforcement capability in the Pacific region.

"Detector dogs are a valuable enforcement tool in combating transnational and serious and organised crime syndicates who continue to target Pacific countries. We know that where there are illicit goods, there is criminal activity – and detector dogs are trained to help track them down."

Customs officers seized an estimated 90.7 kilograms of methamphetamine in four abandoned bags across two flights in under 12 hours at Auckland International Airport this past weekend. 

The first intercept came off a flight from Malaysia on Saturday 26 April 2025, and saw Customs officers identify two Eagle Creek-branded bags with 50.2 kilograms of methamphetamine. 
 
The second intercept arrived off a flight from Los Angeles. Border agencies identified two backpacks and referred them to Customs. A search of these bags located 40.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. 
 
It is estimated that these two seizures of methamphetamine would have had a street value of up to NZ$34 million and caused up to NZ$95 million in potential harm and cost to New Zealand. 

On 2 April (US time) US President Trump signed an Executive Order on reciprocal tariffs that means that New Zealand goods exports to the US are subject to an additional 10% tariff over current tariff rates from 5 April, 5:01 pm NZT.

There were some exceptions to this:

- Products covered by earlier US tariff increases, such as steel products and their derivatives and aluminium products and their derivatives as well as automobiles and key automobile parts. 

- Products, including lumber, copper, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals, certain critical minerals, and energy and energy products, listed in Annex II of the above Executive Order, which may be subject to sector-specific tariffs in future. 

Changes to the US tariffs policy have been made since President Trump's 2 April announcement, and further developments cannot be ruled out.

Customs will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with other New Zealand government agencies.  

If you have any Customs-specific matters in relation to the US tariff changes that you would like to bring to our attention, please email USTariffDesk@customs.govt.nz.

The rate of compensatory interest payable under sections 154 and 161 of the Customs and Excise Act 2018 will change with effect on and after 8 May 2025. 
 
The interest rate will change from 10.88% to 9.89%.