A 46-year-old Auckland man was sentenced in the Auckland District Court to three years and four months’ imprisonment on Friday, November 14, over a trade-based money laundering scheme.
The operation used a second-hand vehicle and parts business to move and hide drug money between November 2020 and April 2024, 1News reported. Cash linked to drug crime bought vehicles and parts in New Zealand before staff shipped them to Nigeria.
A total of 101 shipments left New Zealand for Nigeria during the operation. Buyers in Nigeria purchased the goods, and proceeds went into an overseas business account.
False export declarations understated the vehicle values. Some export documents also incorrectly recorded the vehicle manufacturing years.
Man Receives Prison Sentence for Drug Smuggling and Money Laundering
Customs investigators uncovered the operation after intercepting 12 packages bound for New Zealand. Those packages contained about 22.6kg of methamphetamine and 34g of cocaine.
During the investigation, the man transferred $459,600 to Nigerian bank accounts. A subsequent raid at his home uncovered at least $100,000 in cash.
The man pleaded guilty to three money laundering charges and one representative charge of knowingly providing false export information. The Auckland District Court handed down the sentence of three years and four months.
International Trade Networks Used for Crime
Acting Customs Investigations Manager Nigel Barnes described how the network operated across borders. Investigators found an international cycle involving drugs sent to New Zealand, criminal funds used for local purchases, vehicles exported to Nigeria, and proceeds deposited overseas.
“By converting criminal cash into trade goods and selling them overseas, the network sought to make the proceeds appear to come from legitimate business activity,” Barnes told 1News.
Barnes said that money laundering lets criminal networks fund further drug shipments and continue causing harm while undermining trust in international trade and financial systems.
“Profit is the lifeblood of transnational and serious organised crime. Disrupting illicit funds limits criminals’ ability to buy drugs, pay associates and finance further offending,” Barnes said.
Customs combines border information, trade data, and financial intelligence with information from domestic and international partners to identify activity that does not add up, according to Barnes.
