A provisional total of 747kg was seized in a south Auckland raid in March (file picture). Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Police have confirmed that nearly three-quarters of a tonne of methamphetamine that was seized earlier this year was the biggest meth bust in New Zealand's history.
A provisional total of 747 kilograms was seized during a raid in south Auckland back in March as a part of Operation Lavender.
The seizure followed an investigation into methamphetamine laced Honey Bear House Beers, which killed Aiden Sagala earlier this year.
Sagala died in Auckland Hospital in March after drinking from a beer can that he did not know contained high purity liquid methamphetamine.
Two men have since been charged in relation to a methamphetamine import concealed in a large shipment of Honey Bear House Beer.
High purity liquid methamphetamine was contained in some Honey Bear House Beer cans. Photo: Supplied / NZ police
The search warrant executed in March on Ryan Place in Manukau uncovered a significant quantity of the drug.
Police said the 747kg included both crystallised methamphetamine and methamphetamine extracted from the cans found during the raid.
It is the second time this year that police have made a record breaking methamphetamine bust.
Earlier this year, New Zealand Police and Customs intercepted 713kg of methamphetamine at the border hidden in a shipment of maple syrup from Canada.
The shipment which was bound for the Australasian market was intercepted as part of Operation Regis in January.
Six arrests were made as a result of the operation.
Police Minister Ginny Andersen said it was a significant haul and great to see "that level of harm taken off our streets".
"It's always good when we seize more methamphetamine, what we see from the wastewater testing that's coming out showing how much consumption - that's remaining relatively static."
Wastewater testing had been used for drug detections since before Covid-19, she said.
The drugs would be destroyed.
"There's a long process that's - I think it's actually quite confidential in terms of what they go through - to make sure it's absolutely unusable."
