Wellington Police Charge Two Men For Importing Large Quantities Of Ketamine In Joint Operation With Customs
Wellington police have charged two people responsible for
importing large
quantities of the class C controlled drug
ketamine.
Detective Senior Sergeant Hamish Blackburn
of the Wellington District
Organised Crime Unit said
Operation Reheat was a joint New Zealand Police and
New
Zealand Customs Service investigation into the importation
and supply of
ketamine across the Wellington
region.
Charges were laid after six search warrants
were carried out at properties in
Wellington and Kāpiti.
Two men, aged 19 and 20, have been arrested and
will
appear in court on charges including importing a class C
controlled drug
and possession for supply of a class B
controlled drug.
Early assessments indicate around 11
kilograms of ketamine as well as
quantities of MDMA
ecstasy have been seized so far.
This joint
investigation commenced after Customs noticed an increase
in
ketamine seizures across the Wellington and Kapiti
Coast regions.
At this stage, it is believed the
offending uncovered in Operation Reheat
spans between
June 2022 and October this year, and, in some cases,
included
drugs being imported in packaging masked as
anti-inflammatory medication.
“Authorities are
continuing enquiries into identifying the
supplier
responsible for exporting the ketamine to New
Zealand.
“Police and Customs are committed to
identifying and disrupting the
importation of these types
of drugs which target our communities. We are
committed
to holding offenders to account and delivering on our intent
to
keep New Zealanders safe,” says Detective Senior
Sergeant Blackburn.
Chief Customs Officer Regional
Investigations, Rachael Manning, says
criminals should be
warned that Customs and Police are constantly
gathering
intelligence on illicit drug smuggling
activities and it is only a matter of
time before they
are caught.
“Acting on intelligence that spans a
global reach, we work closely with our
Police partners as
well as our international law enforcement colleagues
as
needed to nab criminal operations like this one,” Ms
Manning says.
Anyone who has concerns about criminal
activity in their community can
contact Police by calling
111 if it is happening now, and 105 if it has
already
happened.
Information can also be reported to your
local Police Station or anonymously
through Crime
Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
The public can also report
concerns about possible smuggling by contacting
Customs
confidentially on 0800 WE PROTECT (0800 937 768)
We
encourage anyone affected by drug addiction to seek help
through the
Alcohol and Drug Helpline on 0800 787 797, or
free text
8681.