NZ Customs Release

Issue

817

19 December 2025

Happy holidays!

Wishing you all a happy and safe holiday season from us at the New Zealand Customs Service. 

This will be the last edition of Customs Release for the year, and we will recommence in January 2026.

Customs urges public to help protect New Zealand's border this summer

As summer begins, Customs is urging port and marina workers, cruise passengers, Kiwi boaties, and coastal communities to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity along our maritime border.

With over 15,000 kilometres of coastline and an expected 550–600 international small craft arrivals this season, Customs will maintain maritime surveillance and patrols throughout summer. Officers are also preparing to welcome around 180,000 cruise passengers visiting our shores this season.

In 2024/2025, Customs seized more than 2.8 tonnes and 787 litres of illicit drugs and prohibited goods, such as tobacco, weapons and controlled substances at the maritime border, with cocaine and methamphetamine making up 1.5 tonnes of the total.

Cocaine seized in Tauranga as Customs cracks down on illicit smuggling this summer

Customs officers at the Port of Tauranga seized an estimated 16 kilograms of cocaine, worth a retail street value of NZ$5.6 million.

This was the second illicit drug seizure by Customs at the Port of Tauranga in a week.

The seizure was discovered in a refrigerated container on board a vessel that originated in Peru and transited through Balboa, Panama, before arriving in Tauranga on 11 December 2025.

Inside the container, hidden amongst legitimate goods, Customs officers located 16 cocaine bricks, each weighing one kilogram.

MFAT Market Intelligence Reports

The latest edition of the weekly global trade and economic update for New Zealand businesses has been published.