Woman jailed for $1M ‘P’ in pork cans

Sui Man ‘Christine’ Ip was sentenced in the Auckland High Court for importing a class A controlled drug. She will have to serve at least half her jail-term before facing deportation.

Ip had arrived in New Zealand on 20 January, and moved into a Mount Albert flat the same day. Two weeks later, a package of assorted food items mailed from Hong Kong was x-rayed by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and then referred to Customs as the cans contents looked nothing like food.

Customs found the three cans marked as ‘stewed pork ribs’ were in fact filled with just over 1 kg of meth in total. Customs investigators linked the package to Ip, and she was arrested at Auckland International Airport in early March as she tried to depart the country.

Customs Investigations Manager, Maurice O’Brien says it is not uncommon for offenders to come into the country solely to ‘catch’ and redeliver drugs.

“Customs is well aware of the tricks criminals use and has systems in place to catch them – however the drugs are canned. We work closely with our border partners in Hong Kong to tackle shipments at the supplier end, and this is very successful.”