Five arrested after $2m worth of cigarettes smuggled into country

Five arrests have been made after $2 million worth of cigarettes were smuggled into the country.

Customs said it carried out search warrants on Auckland's North Shore on Monday, resulting in the arrest of a 35-year-old man.

Cigarettes and a large amount of cash was found during the search.

Earlier searches were done on Friday at three residential properties, on a catamaran, in a storage facility and a commercial business in Greenlane.

Three men and a woman, aged between 35 and 45, were arrested as a result of these searches.

Customs said a "substantial" amount of cash, two guns and ammunition were found at one of the properties.

"Customs investigators also found 286 black rubbish sacks, containing over 1.3 million uncustomed cigarettes, in the self-storage facility. This represents approximately NZ$2 million in revenue evasion."

Customs investigations manager Dominic Adams said Operation Montreal started in February in relation to a organised crime group believed to be responsible for the large-scale distribution of uncustomed cigarettes across Auckland.

"Customs has a specialist investigations team that's focused on tracking down smuggled tobacco to both combat tax evasion as well as other associated crimes and the serious consequences this can have on our communities.

"This issue is bigger than smuggling or selling cheap cigarettes. Customs is increasingly seeing that well-resourced organised criminal groups are often involved, with cigarette profits potentially being used to fund more serious crimes," he said.

The five people arrested are facing multiple charges, including defrauding Customs revenue, possession or custody of uncustomed goods, sale of uncustomed goods, and participation in an organised crime group.

All those arrested have appeared in court and further charges were being considered.