New Zealand man jailed for smuggling drugs

A New Zealand man has jailed for five years for attempting to smuggle methamphetamine precursor drugs valued at 8 million NZ dollars (5.81 million U.S. dollars) from China, the New Zealand Customs service said Thursday.

Sarawood Aemort, 32, was sentenced at the Auckland District Court on Wednesday for importing more than 12 kilograms of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine.

Aemort was arrested and charged after Customs intercepted a number of packages sent from China between December and January, said a statement from Customs.

The packages were declared as computer desks, a toning machine, and packaging paper, but Customs officers found the drugs with the potential to yield up to 8 kg of methamphetamine hidden inside.

A search of Aemort's Auckland home in January revealed a number of zip lock bags of ephedrine, a set of scales, and bags of cash totaling around 139,000 NZ dollars (101,025 U.S. dollars).

Customs investigations manager Maurice O'Brien said criminals were constantly changing the way they concealed drugs in an effort to smuggle them into the country.

"Drugs are usually hidden in legitimate goods and methods are constantly changing, but Customs continually updates its information and targeting to keep ahead," O'Brien said in the statement.

SourcE : XINHUA