Dunedin and Christchurch airports are known gateways for drug trafficking of methamphetamine from the North Island.
Minister of Police Judith Collins received options about general screening for illicit drugs at domestic airports on August 11 as part of a plan to prevent and disrupt drug trafficking within New Zealand and between the North and South Islands.
Canterbury Inspector Bryan Buck said it requires a change of law to allow drug detection dogs out of the Customs controlled international areas into domestic terminals.
"From a policing point, we want to deploy drug dogs in those domestic areas . . . We know illicit drugs are moving about the country and that it is largely unchecked," he said.
On September 9 this year, two men with gang connections were arrested at Dunedin Airport with a quantity of methamphetamine.
In November 2014, Kylie Puna was arrested on Yaldhurst Rd in Christchurch after a drug-run ended with a police chase and a crash.
Puna was found to be concealing 18.2g of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $18,200. She brought the drugs in through the airport.
In August that year, a woman was convicted to 12 months' home detention after she concealed $50,000 in cash and 56g of methamphetamine on her person before boarding a flight from Auckland to Christchurch.
Sociologist and gang expert Jarrod Gilbert said the screening would be a significant expense to introduce throughout New Zealand, and believed a pilot programme would be the way to go.
"When you are dealing with hundreds of people and their luggage that will take time and money so the question is, will it achieve bang for buck?" he said.
Insp Buck said if it was just a matter of having the dogs there, it could be done tomorrow.
"Finding the balance between protecting people's rights and allowing the police to do their job is the key to its success," he said.
- Christchurch Star
