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New Zealand woman, 33, caught with 18.5kg of meth in Auckland airport after flight from S'pore
They were discovered in her checked luggage.
January 06, 2026, 06:59 PM
A woman who flew from Singapore to Auckland, New Zealand, was detained after landing at Auckland Airport after about 18.45kg of methamphetamine was found in her checked luggage.
This amount can produce up to 922,500 doses, with a potential street value of NZ$5.53 million (S$4 million), the New Zealand Customs Service said in a media release.
The woman, a 33-year-old Kiwi national, arrived in Auckland on Jan. 4 on Singapore Airlines flight SQ285, according to court documents cited by The New Zealand Herald.
She was also stated to be unemployed with no fixed abode.
During a search of her baggage, customs officers found 18 individually vacuum-sealed packages containing a white crystalline substance.
The substance was later tested and confirmed to be meth.
Could be jailed for life
Charged with drug smuggling, the woman appeared in court on Jan. 5, and will be remanded until April for a case review hearing.
In New Zealand, the offence of importing class A narcotics, which includes meth, carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Top images from the New Zealand Customs Service and JB/Google Maps
