Operation Matata: More baggage handlers at Auckland International Airport charged in major drug smuggling bust

RNZ News

5 days ago

Photo:
Supplied / NZ Police
A total of 15 current and former baggage handlers employed at Auckland International Airport have been charged as part of a major drug bust.
An investigation by police and customs unravelled a transnational organised crime syndicate working with local gangs to import significant quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine into New Zealand.
Operation Matata identified that the syndicate was allegedly smuggling Class A drugs through unattended baggage on international flights, primarily through Auckland International Airport.
A further nine people are facing serious criminal and drug charges, following the arrest of 18 on 24 June.
Customs, working alongside US authorities, seized 631 kilograms of methamphetamine and 112kg of cocaine.
Photo:
Supplied / NZ Police
Investigators executed 19 search warrants across Auckland on Wednesday.
"Make no mistake, this investigation has exposed and disrupted a significant threat to New Zealand," Detective Inspector Tom Gollan, of the National Organised Crime Group said.
"Police will allege the group's operation involved placing unaccompanied bags on international flights, which were then covertly removed on arrival in Auckland by corrupt baggage handlers to avoid security protocols."
Police and customs had been working closely with overseas law enforcement to disrupt and intercept multiple drug shipments bound for New Zealand.
Flights originated from Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Santiago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York.
Gollan said the most recent seizure was 50kg of methamphetamine smuggled aboard a flight from Malaysia on 18 June 2025.
Photo:
Supplied / NZ Police
"It will be alleged one of the arrested individuals gained unauthorised airside access at Auckland International Airport and was observed piloting a baggage cart towards the aircraft," he said.
"The man's attempts were thwarted by a swift and coordinated response from police, customs and other agencies."
Approximately $150,000 in cash was also located during Wednesday's search warrants.
"Law enforcement continues to work with airport authorities and other companies to stamp out insider threats, making it difficult for criminal enterprises to operate in that environment," Gollan said.
"Multiple investigations over the last few years, reaching back to Operation Selena, means that we have a very good understanding now of any nefarious activity occurring around the arrival of planes and the deplaning of luggage."
Gollan said that knowledge led to the multiple arrests of baggage handlers and those people siting over the top of them as controllers.
"Work done to make the airport more resilient to this criminal behaviour has forced organised crime groups to modify the way they operate making them more vulnerable to discovery," he said.
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