The haul of 81 bales was recovered in a joint operation with the New Zealand Customs Service and Defense Force acting on intelligence from the Five Eyes alliance, which also includes Australia, the United States of America, Canada, and the United Kingdom. According to the police, the haul had been drifting hundreds of kilometers northwest of New Zealand. “By some measure, this is the greatest find of illegal substances by New Zealand’s agencies,” stated Andrew Coster, the Commissioner of the New Zealand Police Force.
It is believed by the authorities that the narcotics were dropped off at a “floating transit site” in the Pacific Ocean, from whence they were then picked up and transported to Australia. “We believe it was headed for Australia, where it would have been enough to supply the market for one year,” said Coster. “We believe it was destined for Australia.” “It is more than thirty years’ worth of consumption for New Zealand.” A photograph taken by the police department revealed that the enormous haul was contained behind netting and coated with yellow floats. On some of the bales was a symbol that resembled Batman, and the packets of cocaine that were contained therein had what seemed to be a print of a four-leaf clover on their labels.
The arrest was a “great victory” for law enforcement in both New Zealand and Australia, according to Coster, who was describing the situation. “There is no doubt in my mind that this revelation deals a significant financial blow straight from the producers in South America all the way through to the distributors of this commodity,” he continued. According to the authorities, it is too soon to identify where the narcotics originated from. No arrests have been made.
