$400,000 drug bust at Wellington Airport

A 54-year-old grandmother has appeared in court after police allegedly seized methamphetamine and other drugs in her possession at Wellington Airport yesterday.

Susan Horrobin, unemployed, of Wellington was remanded in custody at Wellington District Court until tomorrow for a bail application.

Police said that she was found with close to 400g of methamphetamine, with a street value of $400,000 when searched at the airport yesterday afternoon.

One hundred ecstasy tablets and 45 tabs of LSD, valued at about $10,000, were also seized.

Acting detective senior sergeant Warwick McKee from the Wellington Covert Operations Group said the woman was arrested around 2.30pm yesterday after arriving on a flight from Auckland.

Mr McKee said it was a "significant" seizure of methamphetamine.

"It will have a direct impact in the supply of this terrible drug in the capital," he said.

"It shows a clear message to the community that we are actively policing the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine and we will continue to come down hard on those criminals that manufacture and distribute these drugs."

He said methamphetamine was a very dangerous drug and to remove such a large amount from our streets was very pleasing.

The woman arrested yesterday now faces a number of charges including possession of methamphetamine for supply, possession of LSD for supply and possession of ecstasy for supply.

The woman will appear in the Wellington District Court later today.

The arrest comes as a Massey University study released today showed recent drug busts have helped push up the price of P.

The drug's price increased from $610 a gram in 2006 to $738 last year, the study showed.

It also showed there was the potential for an increase in intravenous methamphetamine use.

- with NZPA

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