Mystery of the $3m cocaine wash-up on Bethells Beach
Drug haul ‘was probably part of a bigger lot, and this part has gotten away’
A$3 million haul of cocaine that washed up on a West Auckland beach is likely part of a much bigger illicit import.
A retired police detective said police investigating the find will be using a plethora of methods to track down who brought the drugs into New Zealand waters and where they were going.
Yesterday the Herald revealed that 19 packages of cocaine caught up in netting had been found on Bethells Beach by a resident out walking on Wednesday.
Each package was about the size of a VHS tape and wrapped tightly in plastic.
“It seems to me like the cocaine was probably part of a bigger lot, and this part has gotten away,” said the retired detective.
“I would think they would be looking at shipping rather than planes — you’d be looking at boats coming into and out of the area.
“The most likely thing I would think is that a boat has come in and dropped it off and then someone else has gone out and picked it up.”
He said the boats involved may have had their navigation or GPS devices turned off to avoid detection — but radar operated by the Air Force or other agencies may still have picked them up.
He suspected the drop-off boat would have had to get in “quite
close” to Bethells due to its rough waters. The pick-up boat would be smaller so ideally it wouldn’t have to go out too far to sea.
“[Police] will be looking at the tide and weather patterns to work out when the drop-off might have happened,” the retired detective said.
“And the packaging itself will tell them things — it will have multiple layers and they will be looking for anything forensic, that will be a starting point.”
He said the drugs would “almost certainly” be imported by a gang.
“It seems to me like it’s probably quite a reasonably sized operation, so losing a bit — because they probably have the same amount or more still that they managed to get through — means it’s still worth it to them.” Cocaine usually came from Colombia or the Middle East, he said. “Cocaine is pretty popular at the moment. There used to be a lot of manufacture in New Zealand but now we’re getting much more importation.”
The source said it was likely the cocaine had been on quite a journey to get to West Auckland. “The police will be looking at shipping routes — Tonga has always been a waypoint for these operations,” he said.
“You get it into the Pacific and then network it out to various places from there.”
He said the operation sounded very much like a similar drug bust in 2016 when 500kg — half a billion dollars worth — of methamphetamine was found on 90 Mile Beach.
A source said the presence of shells on the netting in the Bethells Beach haul indicated the packages were out at sea for some time.
Police tested the packages and confirmed they contained cocaine.
“It is believed the amount found would have a street value of approximately $3m,” said Detective Inspector Colin Parmenter.
“There is a small possibility that further packages may turn up on the beach and we ask any members of the public to contact us immediately if they do.” The Eagle helicopter was in the Bethells area yesterday conducting a search of the area. Parmenter asked anyone with information to contact police.