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Woman arrested for attempting to smuggle 22 pounds of meth wrapped as Christmas gifts in carry-on bag

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Observant officers in a New Zealand airport unwrapped $2 million worth of methamphetamine wrapped as Christmas presents that a Canadian woman attempted to conceal.

The woman, 29, arrived at Auckland International Airport in New Zealand on a flight from Vancouver on December 8 carrying the illicit drugs in her carry-on bag, according to a release from the New Zealand Customs Service. 

FLORIDA MAN WHO WAS HALF-NAKED, ‘HIGH ON METH’ BREAKS INTO HOME, GRABS CARPET CLEANER

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Upon landing, officers questioned the woman and searched her carry-on duffle bag, where they discovered more than 22 pounds of methamphetamine concealed beneath brightly wrapped snowflake wrapping paper.

A Canadian woman was arrested and is facing drug importation and possession charges after she allegedly attempted to smuggle pounds of methamphetamine wrapped as Christmas presents in her carry-on bag.  (New Zealand Customs Service)

Officials say the Canadian national’s bag contained the equivalent of more than $2 million U.S. dollars worth of the illicit drug. 

MORE THAN $31M OF METH CONCEALED IN SHIPMENT OF PEPPERS SEIZED AT TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER

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The woman, 29, arrived at Auckland International Airport in New Zealand on a flight from Vancouver on December 8.  (New Zealand Customs Service)

Auckland Airport Manager Paul Williams called the incident a «classic attempt by transnational organized criminal groups» at exploiting the busy travel season.

BRITISH WOMAN BUSTED AT LOS ANGELES AIRPORT WITH METH-SOAKED T-SHIRTS: POLICE

«But a busy airport does not mean Customs is not focused on or paying attention to anyone who may pose a drug risk,» Williams said in a statement. «The airport teams are made up of vigilant officers who are intently focused on catching those trying to bring harm to New Zealand.»

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Officials say the bag contained the equivalent of more than $2 million U.S. dollars worth of the drug.  (New Zealand Customs Service)

The woman has since appeared in district court on charges of importation and possession for supply of a Class A controlled drug, officers noted.

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«More collaborative work is being done with our Canadian partners to disrupt criminal gangs and the importation of drugs, including through the passenger stream,» Williams told Fox News Digital in an email. «As this is part of an ongoing investigation, Customs would not release further information for operational reasons.»

Authorities said the woman has been taken into custody.


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Russia batters Ukraine power grid amid rising concern Putin could order ballistic missile attack this weekend

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Russia on Friday continued for the third year in a row with its primary winter strategy to pummel Ukraine’s power grid as freezing conditions settle ahead of the winter months in a «massive blow» to the country’s largest energy company. 

Moscow’s forces fired some 90 missiles, including cruise missiles, and 200 drones in one of the largest mass attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, targeting plants across Western Ukraine in the Lviv, Ternopil and the Ivano-Frankivsk regions, the Kyiv Independent reported.

The severity of the attack is not yet known, though at least half of the Ternopli region was reportedly without power and equipment was said to have been «damaged» by the DTEK civilian energy company.

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Residents shelter at the subway station amid a Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday.  (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

NATO CHIEF URGES MEMBERS TO ‘TURBOCHARGE’ DEFENSE PRODUCTION AS HE PAINTS PICTURE OF A WORLD BOUND FOR WAR

«This year, this is already the twelfth mass attack on the Ukrainian energy industry and the ninth mass attack on the company’s energy enterprises,» the company said in a post on Telegram, noting that no casualties had been reported. «In total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the DTEK thermal power plant has been fired upon more than 200 times.»

The mass attacks came after reports this week suggested that Russia could be planning another attack using its latest ballistic missile, the Oreshnik missile — which it first fired last month — to hit Ukraine. 

The attack could apparently happen «as soon as this weekend,» according to a U.S. National Security Council official in a Friday Financial Times report. 

Similarly, an official told Reuters earlier in the week, «We assess that the Oreshnik is not a game-changer on the battlefield, but rather just another attempt by Russia to terrorize Ukraine, which will fail.»

The threat of another substantial attack comes amid concern that Russian forces are making incremental gains in Donetsk near the town of Pokrovsk, which has potentially given Moscow access to supply routes connecting the area to Zaporizhzhia, Estonian Intelligence reported on Friday.

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A locomotive passes under a destroyed bridge on a heavily damaged railway track in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, on Nov. 16. 

A locomotive passes under a destroyed bridge on a heavily damaged railway track in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, on Nov. 16.  (Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)

VOTERS WANT MORE US INVOLVEMENT ON WORLD STAGE DESPITE ISOLATIONIST TALK, RONALD REAGAN INSTITUTE SURVEY FINDS

Though according to open-source data presented by Estonian Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the nation’s Defense Forces (EDE), Ukrainian forces have also successfully repelled attacks levied by Russian forces on the Dontesk town of Kurakhove, some 35 miles south of Pokrovsk, despite Russian attempts to encircle the town.

«Russian occupiers are throwing all available forces forward, attempting to break through the defenses of our troops,» Ukrainian army chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a Facebook post late Wednesday. 

Pokrovsk remains a key defensive post for Ukraine in Donetsk, and its fall would not only compromise Kyiv’s access to supply routes, but its ability to continue to fend off Russia’s attempts to seize the entire region.

The increasing crunch Ukraine is feeling in Donetsk coincides with concerns over whether the U.S. will continue to aid Ukraine as the Trump administration is set to take office in late January. 

President-elect Trump has not said whether he will maintain the U.S.’ ongoing level of support for Ukraine, and in an interview with Time magazine released Thursday, he criticized Kyiv’s use of U.S.-supplied ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) to hit targets in Russia. 

«Anything can happen. Anything can happen. It’s a very volatile situation,» Trump said of the war in Ukraine. «I think the most dangerous thing right now is what’s happening, where [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy has decided, with the approval of, I assume, [President Biden], to start shooting missiles into Russia. I think that’s a major escalation. I think it’s a foolish decision.»

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Ukrainian soldiers with assault rifles are seen during training to counter Russian saboteur groups in Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Thursday. (Maksym Kishka/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC «UA:PBC»/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

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Biden in November relinquished his long-held opposition to Ukraine using U.S.-supplied missiles to hit military targets in Russia after years of pleas by Kyiv to do so.

Zelenskyy, along with other U.S. security experts, have long argued Ukraine should be able to attack Russia amid its yearslong deadly invasion, and that hitting weapons depots and Russian military positions used to launch massive missile and drone campaigns that target Ukrainian civilians is critical in turning the tide of the war. 


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