New Zealand's largest-ever cocaine bust found in sparkly horse head
A fake horse may have been helpful when it came to enemy soldiers breaching the city of Troy, but it didn't quite work for drugs entering New Zealand.
The country's police force has claimed its largest-ever seizure of cocaine after a stash was discovered in a 400-kilogram (881-pound) sculpture of a horse's head encrusted with diamantes.
The shipment arrived in the country from Mexico in May, when customs officers discovered 35 bricks of cocaine worth an estimated street value of NZ$14 million (US$10 million), according to a statement Saturday from the New Zealand Police.
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Authorities didn't horse around, and three unidentified men were charged Saturday. A 44-year-old Mexican national and a 56-year-old U.S. national were arrested at Auckland International Airport Friday evening and face drug importation and possession charges. A 29-year-old Mexican national was arrested Saturday in Christchurch and will face the same charges.
Police said the seizure was much larger than usual, with an average of 250 grams (8.8 ounces) seized in a year.
"This is obviously an extremely large amount of cocaine, and in the past we've only found very small amounts of this drug," Detective Senior Sergeant Colin Parmenter said in a statement.
"What this find tells us though is that there is obviously a demand for it. While it's possible that this statue may have been sent on to another country, but there's every possibility that the cocaine was destined for the New Zealand market and we would be naïve to think otherwise."
On Monday, police released images of another man they'd like to speak to who was caught leaving an Auckland hotel in CCTV footage. The man is described as having a "Spanish-sounding accent," according to New Zealand Police.
Like many countries, importing or possessing cocaine in New Zealand comes with high penalties. Manufacture, importation or supply can result in life in jail, while possession could carry a maximum of six months imprisonment in addition to a NZ$1,000 (US$719) fine.
If anything, at least the alleged felons can be spared the shame of legitimately owning a diamante-encrusted horse head.
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