Large drug haul found in lava lamps (nz)

06 August 2004

One of the country's biggest hauls of illegal drugs has been found in lava lamps imported from China.


Customs officers said nine kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, known as 'Ice P' was found in the lamps when they arrived in Auckland from China.

The lamps in four cartons were inspected and the drug was found in the liquid in the lamps.

A joint police and customs operation, called Operation Lava, began and the packages were delivered to an Auckland address.

During the operation a fifth identical carton was found and the lamps it contained also had drugs inside.

The drugs had a street value of $9 million, customs officers said in a statement.

A Chinese student, 23, was charged with importing a Class A controlled drug into New Zealand, and possession for supply of a Class A controlled drug.

He is being held in custody until his next court appearance.

Detective Sergeant John Sowter from the Auckland drug squad said the haul would be one of the largest individual hauls in New Zealand and inquiries were continuing both in New Zealand and overseas.

He said the person arrested was not working alone and they expected another two or three arrests.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2994652a10,00.html


Was just waiting for another bust to happen, considering the capital is raining crystal more than ever before... Oh, now its called "Ice P" heh, can just imagine word on the street "dude this aint rock, this aint ice, this is ice p! de shit"... Off to get a beer...

I've heard the drug is similar to one used in america often in the 80s,

"Vanilla Ice"

It's for the better! Ice is some nasty shit

meh, P bores teh hell out of me...its so...average...

Does it amaze anybody else that these guys actually find this kind of thing at customs? I mean, in teh liquid of the lava lamp itself...how the flying fuck do the customs officers even think to look there?!?! Just goes to show if you ever bring anythign in that isnt strictly ok, be careful as hell, and bury it for a few weeks as soon as you get it..watch for surveillance and such.

They didn't just magically check and intercept it. It was known it was going to be there beforehand, the operation was named 'Operation Lava'. Either they have used this method many times before, or they knew through existing intelligence that it would be packaged in lava lamps.

^ I was wondering that myself, some people have gone to great lengths to hide their gear and I mean, in the wax of the lava lamp would be a great deal of effort - so they'd have to of been tipped off or already knew this is how drugs are sent here.

but if they catch this, imagine all the stuff that slips past undetected? i'd say what they find is only a small margin

I got the impression from the context that Operation Lava began when the speed was found, but very true...they surely had some kind of a tip off or theyd be ripping apart everything.

next time I buy a lava lamp from a 2 dollar shop I just might have to smash it open just to be extra sure there's no rocks in there ;-)

ON t.v. it was stated that it was ice suspended in ethanol (if I stand correct) and ready for extraction. I guess them pretty little balls didnt do much to detere anyone from thinking otherwise. Probably did the wisest thing first (> turn the lava lamo on <)

^^ Yes. After looking into the legit makings of Lava lamps some years ago, I think it would be very difficult to get one to work if meth was introduced, or the formulation of the suspension varied as in the above story.

Engine oils, cooking oils, fuel oils, solvents, waxes, and even plastics can be used to conceal or contain drugs, particularly amines where the drug may exist in a water soluble, hydrophillic (salt) form, or a hydrophobic (freebase) form which is soluble in similar solvents.

Locating this contraband may prove difficult without a strong lead. However, as physical properties such as density and light absorbances also change when such things are introduced, sophisticated scanning equipment could be employed which may make the future rather limited with this means of concealment.

Ion scanners are also making large headway in Forensics and Customs detection, with the next generation likely to be more adjustable in sensitivity. The clothing laden user may be easily distinguished from the business man with an ounce of charis 8(

^^ impressive!!!

Yep it was ice suspended in coloured ethanol, 300 - 400 grams per lava lamp...

Cyberdyne said:

meh, P bores teh hell out of me...its so...average...

Does it amaze anybody else that these guys actually find this kind of thing at customs? I mean, in teh liquid of the lava lamp itself...how the flying fuck do the customs officers even think to look there?!?! Just goes to show if you ever bring anythign in that isnt strictly ok, be careful as hell, and bury it for a few weeks as soon as you get it..watch for surveillance and such.

Click to expand...

Surely the customs guys take drugs... therefore you could say that they know where they would hide it... and then look there.

Perhaps they were sposed to get the stuf n got done over, i remember in perth when they did that coke bust up north, the week they said they burnt it all is a secret place the streets were full of ppl all on coke, now thats no coincidence.

hell if i was a cop i'd do it