'We'll go after your assets, happy to extradite people' - Police warn drug smugglers

An organised crime group alleged to be one of the most significant suppliers of cocaine into Aotearoa has been dealt a massive blow.

A 10-month joint operation by law enforcement in New Zealand, Colombia and the United States has resulted in the seizure of 50 kilograms of cocaine, $300,000 in cash and nine arrests so far.

Police and Customs spoke to media in Christchurch today, where a warning was issued by National Organised Crime Group director Greg Williams.

"The message today is 'don't bother coming'. We'll identify your people. We'll identify and break and disrupt your networks. We'll go after your assets whether they be here or offshore and where necessary we're quite happy to extradite people back here who are involved in this offending and we will work with international partners to also hold people accountable back in other countries who are involved in this process."

The cocaine is said to have come from Colombia, with six Colombian nationals and one Argentine among the arrested.

It has resulted in a response from agencies from around the world including Colombian Police, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and New Zealand police.

"These people are setting up the importation mechanisms and the supply lines to local gangs and organised crime and then wanting to push the cash out of New Zealand as quickly as they can. We've identified this typology as transnational organised crime cells. So this is Operation Mist as a TNOCS cell inserted into New Zealand for this purpose," Williams said.

It was disclosed today that places like New Zealand are being targeted by transnational crime groups because of the high prices paid here for cocaine.

A kg costs $2500 to make - but could fetch $170,000 on the streets here, a mark up of 6700 percent.

Customs head of intelligence Bruce Berry said: "In the year of 2020, our partners in Customs stopped around 1.2 tonnes of illicit drugs arriving and causing harm in our communities. This year, we're closer to 1.8 [tonnes]. This problem is not going away."

Customs has seen drug smuggling on an industrial scale.

Berry said those involved concealed the cocaine coming in and the money earned from the drugs going out inside all manner of things, including machinery inside shipping containers.

"If you can imagine it, we've seen it as a concealment. It's as simple as that and the quantum that we deal with range from a few grams through to multi-hundred kilos."

Williams said he expected there to be more arrests, both in New Zealand and Colombia.