Golf carts are typically used to tote golfers from shot to shot, but two men attempted to use them as a way to transport nearly $40 million in crystal methamphetamine from the United States to New Zealand.
Customs officers investigated what they thought to be a suspicious shipping container only to find three six-seater golf carts. Upon further inspection, however, they were right to have considered it suspicious.
Inside, the cart’s batteries were packed full of crystal meth, which according to Stuff.co.nz, was worth $55 million in Australian dollars or $39 million American. There were also a pair of handguns found as well.
Two men are scheduled to appear in court this afternoon after Customs and @nzpolice thwarted an attempt to smuggle 110 kgs of methamphetamine and two handguns into #NewZealand inside golf cart batteries. Read more: https://t.co/c75JyuR27D pic.twitter.com/klPazISP6J
— New Zealand Customs (Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa) (@NZ_Customs) February 24, 2019
Chiu Tan Yu, a 39-year-old Taiwanese national, and 27-year-old Chinese national Linmo Peter Sun were in Auckland court on Monday to face charges of importation and possession of a class A controlled drug.
The drugs were discovered in January, but the men were only arrested last week. Both pleaded “not guilty” and will return to court in May for trial.
According to Stuff, the drugs could have caused $136.3 million (AUD) of “social harm” had they not been seized by customs.
