Jamie Bamford: Customs' Deputy Chief Executive of Operations says NZ is on the right track targeting organised crime

Border control is concentrating it's efforts on tackling organised crime. 

They said that the progress so far, in collaboration with international partners, has shown positive results - with over 900kgs of meth bound for NZ seized. However, there is still a significant threat.

Customs' Deputy Chief Executive of Operations, Jamie Bamford told Mike Hosking that 'what we're facing is scale and an aggressive, well funded, agile, organised crime.'

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
As far as the borders consumed police, custom is going
to partner with the international agencies on this new task force.
Jamie Bamford is the Customs Deputy Chief Executive Operations and
as well, there's Jamie morning.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
One.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Well, thank you. Are we on the right track here?
Is there something there's something material going to come out
of us?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Yes? I think so. I think this is just about
making New Zealand harder to reach for organized crime and
just hardening the border, and I think that will have
an effect. We have some excellent relationships with our international
partners which see them sees drugs headed towards New Zealand.
Just this year alone, nine hundred kilos of maths seized
by our partners headed for New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
See. The thing that makes me suspicious of all of
this is we should be doing this any way. Is
this something we're lacking? Is it attitude or money or
equipment or resource or what.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
No, we are doing it already. What we're facing is
scale and an aggressive, well funded, agile organized crime. You know,
they move at the pace of technology. We kind of
move at the pace of the law. That's why we
have some sort of legislation hopefully about to hit the house.
But I think this will give us the ability to
breach some gaps and as we talk about the Pacific,

(01:11):
actually be a bit more proactive, have more presence out
there on that vast ocean. That just makes it, again
New Zealand harder to reach.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
What's the bigger problem from your point of view? Is
it the demand or is it the supply?

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Probably, to be honest, I think this is quite a
supply driven issue. You know, organized crime is very entrepreneurial.
They see a market, we pay amongst the highest prices
in the world, they flood us. And then obviously we
have gangs here who are quite happy to payd all
this misery to some of our poorer areas. And then
it takes off and you know, we pay, as I say,

(01:44):
amongst the highest prices in the world. We're about one
hundred and twenty thousand dollars for a killer of meth wholesale.
It's about five to seven thousand dollars in the States.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Are we stupid? I mean, explain to me why not
only do we want to inhale methyl, take myth or
whatever the case, but we're prepared to pay over the
odd sport? How stupid, are we?

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Yeah. I couldn't really comment on that on that mic,
but obviously, you know the I think the gangs see
the profit in it and they push it. And there's
you know, sort of some evidence about them pushing that
rather than a good old cannabis, et cetera, because there's
more of a margin in it, and when they've got
your captives, they can kind of get you hooked and
exploit you.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Well, I wish you were with it as well, James. God,
it's depressing as them. We're such a bunch of backward nuineties.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
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