Police rescue runaway horse in Flat Bush, Auckland
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Police in East Auckland have successfully rescued a runaway horse after it fled from officers on Sunday night.
Officers were called to Ravello Rise in Flat Bush after the horse was spotted by a member of the public.
It was spooked by police arriving, galloping down Jeffs Road and through a number of side streets, narrowly missing being hit by a car.
Officers slowed the horse using a handful of grass, after which it was sedated and taken to a veterinary clinic in Clevedon.
Police said the horse's owner has not been found.
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NZ Herald
9 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
Alleged baggage handler drug-smuggling plot: Nine more arrests bring total to 27 in Auckland meth, coke case
Of the 27 arrests to date, 15 are current or former baggage handlers employed by agencies operating at Auckland International Airport. Through Operation Matata, police have accused the syndicate of allegedly smuggling the Class A drugs in unattended bags, mostly through Auckland. During the investigation, the NZ Customs Service seized 631 kilograms of methamphetamine and 112kg of cocaine. Customs worked alongside United States authorities. Police said that much meth would be enough for six doses for every New Zealander. During the investigation, customs staff seized 631 kilograms of methamphetamine and 112kg of cocaine. Customs worked alongside United States authorities. Photo / New Zealand Police Detective Inspector Tom Gollan said the flights carrying the allegedly smuggled drugs came from Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Santiago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. '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,' Gollan said. 'Make no mistake, this investigation has exposed and disrupted a significant threat to New Zealand.' Gollan said Operation Matata began on March 20 this year when a man was arrested in East Tamaki and 25kg of meth was found in his vehicle. Detective Inspector Tom Gollan said the flights carrying the allegedly smuggled drugs came from Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Santiago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Photo / New Zealand Police The subsequent investigation uncovered 'a wider group organising and facilitating controlled drugs being smuggled through Auckland International Airport'. The most recent seizure turned up 50kg of meth allegedly smuggled on a flight from Malaysia on June 18. 'The man's attempts were thwarted by a swift and co-ordinated response from police, customs and other agencies,' Gollan said. '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.' Customs has seized 631 kilograms of methamphetamine and 112kg of cocaine as part of Operation Matata. Photo / New Zealand Police Gollan said law enforcement would continue to work with the airport and other companies to stamp out insider threats. 'Multiple investigations over the last few years, reaching back to Operation Selena, mean that we have a very good understanding now of any nefarious activity occurring around the arrival of planes and the deplaning of luggage. 'This knowledge has led to multiple arrests of baggage handlers and those people sitting 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.' Gollan said criminal syndicates brought misery to communities across New Zealand. 'This is particularly the case with methamphetamine, and these organised crime groups are intent on feeding the addiction of our people in vulnerable communities, which saw meth consumption double in July last year.' Customs investigations manager Dominic Adams said New Zealand's volume of legitimate trade and travel meant the risk of criminal infiltration was 'very real'. 'In tandem with the police and our international partners and industry stakeholders, Customs is continuing to protect communities from the organised criminal groups who are attempting to exploit our international supply chains. Police and customs investigators executed 19 search warrants across Auckland as part of the second phase of their operation on Wednesday. Police also turned up $150,000 in cash. Photo / New Zealand Police 'These individuals are abusing their positions of trust to carry out crime, which not only affects New Zealand's reputation as a safe place to do business but poses a dangerous threat to the wider community by bringing extremely harmful drugs into New Zealand. 'These arrests send a clear message that Customs and our agency and industry partners are tackling this issue head-on, and a potential criminal conviction awaits those who choose to subvert the supply chain for their own gains.' Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
39 minutes ago
- Scoop
Operation Matata: ‘Significant Threat' Exposed In Second Phase OfSmuggling Operation'
Press Release – New Zealand Police During the course of the investigation, Customs working alongside US authorities, seized 631 kilograms of methamphetamine and 112 kilograms of cocaine, stopping it from getting into our communities. A joint Police-Customs investigation has unravelled a major transnational organised crime syndicate working with local gangs to import significant quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine into New Zealand. Operation Matata has identified that the syndicate was allegedly smuggling Class A drugs through unattended baggage on international flights, primarily through Auckland International Airport. The investigation has had two separate termination phases. The latest, on Wednesday, has seen nine people facing serious criminal and drugs charges. This follows an earlier 18 arrests on 24 June 2025 in the first phase. In total 15 current and former baggage handlers employed by airline baggage handling agencies at Auckland International Airport were charged. During the course of the investigation, Customs working alongside US authorities, seized 631 kilograms of methamphetamine and 112 kilograms of cocaine, stopping it from getting into our communities. Putting it into perspective, this seizure would have provided nearly every Kiwi roughly six doses of methamphetamine each. On Wednesday, Police and Customs investigators executed 19 search warrants across the Auckland region. '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 says. '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.' Since the beginning of this year Police and Customs working closely with overseas law enforcement partners have disrupted and intercepted multiple drug shipments bound for New Zealand. Flights have originated from Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Santiago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. Customs Investigations Manager Dominic Adams says New Zealand's volume of legitimate trade and travel means the risk of criminal infiltration is very real. 'In tandem with the Police and our international partners and industry stakeholders, Customs is continuing to protect communities from the organised criminal groups who are attempting to exploit our international supply chains. 'These individuals are abusing their positions of trust to carry out crime, which not only affects New Zealand's reputation as a safe place to do business but poses a dangerous threat to the wider community by bringing extremely harmful drugs into New Zealand. 'These arrests send a clear message that Customs and our agency and industry partners are tackling this issue head on, and a potential criminal conviction awaits those who choose to subvert the supply chain for their own gains.' Detective Inspector Gollan says the most recent seizure was 50 kilograms of methamphetamine smuggled aboard a flight from Malaysia on 18 June 2025. '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 says. 'The man's attempts were thwarted by a swift and coordinated response from Police, Customs and other agencies.' Wednesday's search warrants located approximately $150,000 in cash. '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,' Detective Inspector Gollan says. '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. 'This knowledge has led to 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.' Detective Inspector Gollan says this work continues. 'These syndicates operate for profit only, disregarding the misery these drugs would bring to communities across New Zealand. 'This is particularly the case with methamphetamine and these organised crime groups are intent on feeding the addiction of our people in vulnerable communities, of which saw meth consumption double in July last year.' By the numbers: Operation Matata – 27 arrests to-date – 631kg – methamphetamine seized. – 31.5m – doses of methamphetamine seized – $220.8m – retail value of methamphetamine seized – $699.3m – estimated social harm figure – 112kg – cocaine seized. – 1.12m – doses of cocaine seized – $50.4 – retail value of cocaine seized – $33.6m – estimated social harm figure
RNZ News
39 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Jamie Ellis' murderer Peter Holmes released from prison by Parole Board
By Jeremy Wilkinson, Open Justice multimedia journalist of Peter Richard Holmes was sentenced for murder in the High Court at Dunedin in 2012. Photo: ODT Jamie Ellis was lured away from a party and then beaten to death with a wheel brace after three men falsely believed he'd abused a woman. One of those men, Peter Holmes, has spent the past 14 years in prison for murder, but has now been released after convincing the New Zealand Parole Board he is no longer a risk to the community. Holmes will be subject to strict release conditions for the rest of his life and can be recalled to prison immediately if he violates any of those. According to a ruling released by the board today, Holmes has changed his ways, with prison staff describing him as someone who genuinely cares for others. He has been working outside the wire, has done five guided releases, including spending the night outside prison and was overall assessed as being at low risk of having problems with reintegrating back into the community. A support person who attended his parole hearing earlier this month also spoke of the "massive change" they had seen in him since being imprisoned. "Given the significant work Mr Holmes has completed, the changes that he has made, his sustained good conduct, coupled with the strong support he has in the community, we are satisfied his risk may be safely managed in the community, subject to the relatively strict conditions that are proposed," the board said. At his last hearing in September, Holmes appeared drastically different to the smirking man with a shaven head who appeared in court for sentencing. These days he wears glasses, is softly spoken and asked to open the hearing with a karakia. He told the board that he had been full of "righteous anger" when he'd killed Ellis, and believed at the time what he was doing was justified. "It was something that I was doing the wrong thing for the right reason. It felt as if I was entitled to punish the person. I know I had no right to do what I did," he told the board in September. "I planned to confront him and assault him, and that was as far as I intended it to go. The use of the weapon was what took it too far." Holmes, who has more than 100 convictions, mostly for dishonesty, told the board his offending had been driven by a desire to please people and was exacerbated by substance abuse. His most serious crime was the killing of 23-year-old Ellis in 2011. During a party in Oamaru a female friend of Holmes falsely claimed that Ellis had abused her, though there was no evidence this had occurred. Holmes, together with father and son duo Dean and Mark Carruthers, then enticed Ellis to leave the party and go for a drive with them. They went roughly an hour south to Warrington, north of Dunedin. Then, without any warning or provocation, both Mark and Dean Carruthers and Holmes began kicking and punching Ellis and smashing beer bottles over his head. While the father and son stopped at some point during the beating, Holmes continued, using a wheel brace to strike Ellis to death. His body was then dumped in the bay and found on the sand the following morning with 62 external wounds. The Carruthers were initially charged with murder, but 18-year-old Mark later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and received a two-year jail sentence. Dean pleaded guilty to reduced charges of being an accessory after the fact of assault and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He received seven months of home detention. Holmes was recognised as the lead attacker and pleaded guilty to a charge of murder. He was sentenced in 2012 by Justice Ronald Young in the High Court at Dunedin to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 12 years and six months. Holmes was released earlier this week to an undisclosed location, but is subject to a raft of conditions for the rest of his life. He has an 8am to 8pm curfew, except in emergency situations, and will be subject to electronic monitoring. Holmes is also not to consume alcohol, drugs or psychoactive substances and must attend any treatment or counselling directed by his Probation Officer. He's also not to associate with anyone from the white supremacist gang White Power Creed, nor anyone from Ellis' family or his co-offenders. Finally, he must disclose any intimate relationships he may enter into. Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū, covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022. - This story was first published by the New Zealand Herald .
