N.Z. couriers active in drug traffic

Press, 11 October 1979, Page 3

N.Z. couriers active in drug traffic

INZPA Bangkok. I Narcotics specialists in| i Bangkok believe New Zea-1 panders are still heavily en-f ( gaged in courier roles forb drug smugglers in Thailand:: and Malaysia. : Bangkok and Penang haves (been identified by them as J i significant places for narco- < | tics exchanges before travelling New’ Zealanders set off Ifor global centres with shipintents of drugs. ; A Thai official involved in ' (narcotics control work said ; yesterday that recent arrests ' (of New Zealanders in France, I South-East Asia, and Austra- I Ilia indicated that many were i still willing to take the risks < I of apprehension in return for i I the monetary rewards of a < i successful courier run. •’

. He said law-enforcement I agencies on the South-East j Asian peninsula were now j watching for a New ZealandI er believed to have organised a number of courier runs into New Zealand. I Each arrest of a courier j had to be regarded as a “tip of an iceberg” in relation to drug smuggling as a whole, the official said. ‘■'But generally after each arrest and drug seizing we learn more about smuggling and the names of people involved,” he said. "With better liason between area police forces and improved communications channels we know much more about smuggling and concealment methods than we did two years ago.”