WELLINGTON: New Zealand police and customs officials said on Friday they seized 190 kg (420,000 pounds) of cocaine with a street value of up to NZ$36 million ($25 million) that arrived in Auckland in a shipment of bananas, the country’s largest-ever drug bust.
A 41-year-old man was arrested in neighboring Australia in connection with the seizure, New Zealand authorities said in a statement. Police put the street value of the cocaine at between NZ$28 million and NZ$36 million ($19 million-$25 million).
The haul followed an Australian investigation into an organized crime group. Officials there said a potential shipment of illicit drugs was heading to Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, after leaving Balboa, Panama, on Aug. 4.
The shipment arrived in Auckland on Aug. 20. Authorities inspected the container and found five duffle bags on top of banana boxes that contained 190 blocks of cocaine, each weighing around a kilogram.
The joint investigation between New Zealand and Australian authorities concluded in the past 24 hours with the arrest of the unidentified man in Sydney, the statement said.
Police said the drugs were destined for Australia.
“This seizure has stopped what would have been a very significant amount of harm,” New Zealand’s Minister of Customs Kris Faafoi said in a separate statement. ($1 = 1.4650 New Zealand dollars)
New Zealand police seize 190 kg of cocaine hidden in banana shipment
New Zealand police seize 190 kg of cocaine hidden in banana shipment
- The shipment arrived in Auckland on Aug. 20. Authorities inspected the container and found five duffle bags on top of banana boxes that contained 190 blocks of cocaine, each weighing around a kilogram
Italian PM pledges to deepen cooperation with African states
- The plan, launched in 2024, aims to promote investment-led cooperation rather than traditional aid
ADDIS ABABA: Italy pledged to deepen cooperation with African countries at its second Italy-Africa summit, the first held on African soil, to review projects launched in critical sectors such as energy and infrastructure during Italy’s first phase of the Mattei Plan for Africa.
The plan, launched in 2024, aims to promote investment-led cooperation rather than traditional aid.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addressed dozens of African heads of state and governments in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, and reiterated that a successful partnership would depend on Italy’s “ability to draw from African wisdom” and ensure lessons are learned.
“We want to build things together,” she told African heads of state. “We want to be more consistent with the needs of the countries involved.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Italy had provided Africa with a gateway to Europe through these partnerships.
“This is a moment to move from dialogue to action,” he said.
“By combining Africa’s energetic and creative population with Europe’s experience, technology, and capital, we can build solutions that deliver prosperity to our continents and beyond.”
After the Italy-Africa summit concluded, African leaders remained in Addis Ababa for the annual African Union Summit.
Kenyan writer and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola said tangible results from such summits depend on preparations made by countries.
African governments often focus on “optics instead of actually making summits a meaningful engagement,” she said.
Instead of waiting for a list of demands, countries should “present the conclusions of an extended period of mapping the national needs” and engage in dialogue to determine how those needs can be met.
Since it was launched two years ago, the Mattei Plan has directly involved 14 African nations and has launched or advanced around 100 projects in crucial sectors, including energy and climate transition, agriculture and food security, physical and digital infrastructure, healthcare, water, culture and education, training, and the development of artificial intelligence, according to the Italian government.
