MEDIA RELEASE
24 March 2017

10 years in the ‘can’ for importing tins of ‘chicken stock’ meth

A Hong Kong man received a sentence of 10 years and 5 months’ imprisonment today in the Auckland District court for importing two kilograms of methamphetamine, worth approximately $2 million on the street, disguised as chicken stock powder.

In July 2016, Customs officers at the International Mail Centre stopped a package from China to take a closer look after an x-ray showed inconsistencies in ten cans of chicken stock.

Hidden inside the tins were plastic bags containing methamphetamine.

Investigations linked the package to Tat Yan Chau, who had arrived in New Zealand as part of a tour group from Hong Kong in mid-June but did not depart with the group.

Customs officers executed a search warrant at an Auckland address where Chau was staying and he was subsequently arrested.

Customs Investigations Manager, Bruce Berry says criminals will try any way possible to trick Customs, but cannot get away with it — whatever the ‘can’ of choice may be.

“The knowledge and skill of our frontline officers and the targeting tools that are in place means Customs is pretty good at identifying what looks suspicious, making the drug seizure, and connecting the package to those responsible.

If you have suspicions about drugs smuggling, call Customs on 0800 4 CUSTOMS.

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