A group of biosecurity officers are set to graduate today, and they'll soon be rostered on the front lines at airports, mail rooms, and other rooms full of lost or unclaimed baggage.
It comes amid a surge of international travellers - officers screened nearly 1.4 million in the first three months of this year - that's more than 14-times than during the same period last year.
It's hoped the new grads will ease the up-to 40 minutes it's taking for travellers to be screened at peak times.
Biosecurity New Zealand's northern regional commissioner Mike Inglis spoke to Guyon Espiner.