One year back Australian Border Force and defense patrols intercepted a consignment of cocaine near the coast of northern New South Wales. However, the drug traffickers threw over a whole lot of the packets that contained the contraband into the water. Some of them have surfaced now on the Bethells Beach in Auckland. In the opinion of the New Zealand police, these 20 packages belong to the shipment that was bound for Australia and was missing. This is because of the markings and nature of packaging of the drugs. They are similar to that of the packages seized in Australia last year.
The street value of the seized items runs into millions of dollars
The Guardian reports that last year, the Australian authorities intercepted an inflatable boat traveling towards the mainland and arrested the two occupants. They were seen to be offloading some of the packages into the sea. It was possible to seize most of the cocaine and portions of the ‘lost’ packages have now reached the shores of New Zealand. There could still be more of the drugs waiting to surface elsewhere.
New Zealand police say 20 packages of cocaine that washed up on a beach are likely part of the same shipment discovered over the last year. https://t.co/q6kHwtacI5
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 9, 2019
Drugs are a danger for society
After this shocking discovery, the police carried out an aerial survey of the region but failed to find any more packages.
The New Zealand police says more of these could turn up at other locations and anyone who finds “any suspicious or concerning items” must notify the authorities immediately. These items pose dangers to Society and its wellbeing.
$2 million worth of cocaine washes up on New Zealand beach https://t.co/yhpruSl4oa pic.twitter.com/vUNmzsJcGF
— New York Post (@nypost) August 9, 2019
The Guardian goes on to add that there is a demand for cocaine in Australia and New Zealand.
It has an adverse effect in the impoverished Pacific Islands region. The result is suffering for the population of countries in the region from issues related to drug addiction, corruption and violence. All concerned must play an active role to nip these in the bud and save society. It seems large quantities of the contraband keeps washing up on remote Pacific beaches and the locals take advantage of these situations.
Addiction to cocaine is a disease and strong policing is necessary to check it from spreading.
Traffickers mint millions
According to Fox News, cocaine worth nearly $2 million washed up on a beach in New Zealand. A local resident discovered the illicit drug. The items were in packages and scattered on the Bethells Beach, Auckland. That led the authorities to intensify a search of the area to check if there were more packages. In the opinion of a knowledgeable person, the source of the items could be in Peru or Columbia. There it sells at around $7,500 per kilogram but when it comes to New Zealand, it can fetch $250,000 per kilogram. It is a lucrative trade and drug traffickers mint millions.
Recently, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted cocaine worth an estimated $350 million in San Diego. Drugs destroy the fabric of society and the menace must be rooted out because the addicts usually resort to crimes and violence to have their way.