A farmer who fleeced IRD for $17.3 million has pleaded in tears for a Court of Appeal judge not to send him back to prison.
Matawai man John Richard Bracke
The Employment Court has turned down an application by New Zealand Customs for information the court says would unreasonably burden a worker challenging
30kg meth seized; arrests made in Tonga and NZ mvariety.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mvariety.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
If the Government’s smokefree action plan does not adequately elevate nicotine vaping as the much safer alternative, then cigarette smuggling will become a bigger problem at New Zealand’s border, says a leading Kiwi Tobacco Harm Reduction advocate.
Her comments follow a media investigation which revealed Customs is currently seizing around 125,000 smuggled cigarettes and 155 kilograms of loose tobacco every month.
New Zealand Customs describes it as a lucrative market. In fact, it’s thought to be eight times more profitable than cocaine – and one which has attracted organised crime. Large scale, commercial-grade cigarette smuggling operators are now well established.