By Finn Blackwell of RNZ

Customs have announced three new remotely controlled underwater vehicles to combat smugglers coming in by sea.

The newly purchased equipment will be used to conduct checks below the waterline, freeing up diving crews and targeting illicit smuggling.

Customs Minister Casey Costello made the pre-Budget announcement at the Port of Auckland on Friday.

Customs group manager for maritime Paul Campbell said the technology meant faster targeted inspections and better deployment of specialist divers.

“Transnational criminal groups are increasingly exploiting the scale and complexity of the maritime environment to move illicit drugs into New Zealand and across the Pacific,” he said.

“Customs has, in recent years, invested in a range of maritime capabilities, including uncrewed surface vessels, at-sea boarding capability, specialist detection tools and now remotely operated vehicles.”

Those tools added to Customs’ defence capabilities and played a distinct role in detecting and disrupting criminal activity, he said.

“Our response brings together intelligence, partnerships, technology and frontline expertise to target, identify and respond to border risks earlier – in collaboration with our partners in New Zealand and overseas as needed.”

Campbell said the investment supported Customs’ role in protecting the country and “contributing to security across the Pacific”.

• Customs Minister on the underwater crime-fighting robots set to protect our borders

Costello said organised crime had been targeting the region as a transit hub.

“In the first six weeks of this year, a staggering 14 tonnes of cocaine were seized in the Pacific,” she said.

“Facing these growing threats, we need to make sure Customs has the best tools, the best training and the best strategic capability possible to meet the challenges.

“That’s what this Budget investment of $70 million is for.

“The Government’s investment supported strengthening the domestic border and improving offshore capacity and relationships.”

Costello said the remote-controlled vehicles were safer for Customs.

“Effectively, it’s a remote drone that goes under the water, and the team can see into the sea chest around the hulls, they can do it much more safely, they can do much more of it and that’s the technology investment that I think is important.”

Customs maritime manager Robert Smith said it would make a massive difference.

“We require dive teams right now to go down, it takes a lot of resource, a lot of effort,” he said.

“We can drop one of these things overboard, do a vessel in about an hour and then move on to the next one.”

Smith said it gave officers an idea of what was below the water and the numbers they were dealing with.

“It’s a numbers game, cartels are constantly flooding things, let’s just go ahead and get ahead of it.”

The remote-controlled vehicles will be deployed at ports in Auckland, Tauranga and Lyttelton over the coming months.

- RNZ