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Police seized a 1968 Dodge Charger worth $185,000 as part of a large-scale operation targeting a criminal syndicate’s alleged links to importing controlled Class A drugs.
A police operation that intercepted nearly $250 million worth of illegal drugs at the border has caught six vehicles worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In a statement released Thursday, police said they seized four cars and two motorcycles as part of Operation Weirton.
These include a 1968 $185,000 Dodge Charger and two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, one worth about $14,000 and the second $25,000.
It comes about four months after Operation Weirton led to the seizure of 613 kg of meth, worth about $245 million, in the largest drug bust in New Zealand history back in March.
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Over the course of the month, millions of dollars in assets were taken or “withheld” by police.
On Thursday, they seized the cars and motorcycles, Detective Senior Sergeant Eddie Evans of the Northern Region Asset Recovery Unit said.
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Police also seized two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, one valued at approximately $14,000 and the second at $25,000.
“The list of assets now subject to restraint as part of Operation Weirton continues to grow, highlighting the success of the investigation to date,” Evans said.
“Any assets held to date, including vehicles, property and cash, would all be the proceeds of crime.”
Operation Weirton targeted a criminal syndicate’s alleged links to the importation of controlled Class A drugs into the country, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster explained earlier.
Several people were arrested and many had ties to the Comancheros gang.
“Criminals who gain wealth by selling illegal drugs have little respect for the destruction they leave in their wake,” Evans said.
“Today’s restrictions show that even after an initial termination, the police are still looking for those criminals who continue to prey on vulnerable communities and rob them of their assets.”
In June, a man was arrested at Auckland International Airport after allegedly trying to smuggle 2kg of methamphetamine into the country.
The meth, believed to have come from Mexico, was found in the man’s luggage, hidden in the liner.
It was the first drug seizure found on a passenger since the border reopened this year, customs officials said.