4 Japanese arrested for drug trafficking in New Zealand+

SYDNEY, Nov. 13 Kyodo -
Four Japanese nationals arriving in New Zealand via Malaysia have been arrested
for allegedly smuggling 6 kilograms of methamphetamine with a street value of
up to NZ$6 million (US$4.4 million), police said Friday.

Authorities said they believe that with this interception, the largest
methamphetamine haul this year, they have disrupted a major methamphetamine
importing operation with links to Malaysia.
The three men and one woman appeared in court Thursday and were remanded in
police custody until early December. They face a maximum penalty of life
imprisonment if convicted.
Police told Kyodo News that Kazuhiko Takiguchi, 39, and his wife, Takako
Takiguchi, 31, arrived at Auckland International Airport in the early hours of
Tuesday morning after having traveled from Malaysia via Singapore.
They were arrested after some 2 kg of methamphetamine, also known as ''ice'' or
''crystal,'' was found in their false-bottom suitcase, having been carefully
concealed in the lining of the bag.
The other two Japanese -- Yoshinori Tanakawa, 42, and another man identified as
''Toshiyuka'' Toda, 50 -- were arrested Wednesday after arriving at the same
airport from Malaysia via Sydney. They each carried 2 kg of crystal
methamphetamine in their luggage.
Police then carried out a controlled delivery of the drugs to a hotel in
Auckland, where they arrested two New Zealand men of Iranian descent.
The smuggling attempts have been linked to an organized drug importation ring
involving Iranian suppliers based in Malaysia who courier the drugs to New
Zealanders of Iranian descent, police said.
They said all four Japanese suspected drug couriers are known to have been
living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Their arrests come just days after a 35-year-old Japanese woman was formally
charged in Malaysia with trafficking 4.7 kg of methamphetamine into the
country. She faces death by hanging if convicted.
''This seizure is the result of meticulous intelligence gathering that spanned
the world,'' Customs Minister Maurice Williamson said in a statement.
''It sends a strong signal to those who try to bring drugs into New Zealand
that there is a good chance their drugs will be found and they will be
caught,'' he said.
Police Minister Judith Collins congratulated all of those involved in the
busts, saying, ''This interception shows the great results that can be achieved
when agencies work together on stamping out the drugs trade.''
''The effect of these drugs would have been devastating had they made it
through the net into our community,'' she said.
The arrests were part of a joint operation between police and the New Zealand
Customs Service, codenamed Operation Rapid.
In an interview with Television New Zealand last month, Prime Minister John Key
called methamphetamine, better known as ''P'' in New Zealand, a
''scourge...running through the heart'' of the country.
He noted that an estimated 2 percent of the adult population, or some 55,000
people, are methamphetamine users, putting New Zealand among the top three
developed countries in terms of the severity of its methamphetamine problem.
Key has reportedly directed the New Zealand Customs Service to mobilize 40
officers with new intelligence devices and new techniques to help combat the
problem.
==Kyodo
2009-11-13 22:58:34