WELLINGTON, April 4 (Xinhua) -- A young Brazilian woman is in prison after New Zealand Customs officers allegedly found 4.6 kg of cocaine in her luggage as she entered the country.
The woman was spending her 29th birthday Tuesday in a New Zealand jail after she was arrested at Auckland Airport on Sunday, Customs officials said.
The woman arrived on a flight from Brazil via Chile and was questioned and searched by Customs officers, Customs investigations manager Bruce Berry said in a statement.
X-rays showed inconsistencies in her bags which, when drilled, showed traces of cocaine.
The 4.6-kg total extracted had the potential street value of up to 3.2 million NZ dollars (2.24 million U.S. dollars) in New Zealand.
"Customs' work is led by intelligence and we do extensive screening to identify those that may pose a risk - so we have a really good idea of whom we want to take a closer look at," said Berry.
The woman was due to appear in the court in Auckland on Friday.
