Otago students buying illicit drugs online, wanting to make quick money, have prompted a blunt warning from a chief Customs officer: ''You will be caught''.
New Zealand Customs is reporting daily interceptions of drugs bought online and a growing number are destined for the country's university campuses, including Otago, chief Customs officer, investigations, Kirk McPherson confirmed.
He had a simple message for those students: ''You are playing Russian roulette with your future, your lives, your career.''
He highlighted the case of a Palmerston North student who was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, after buying drugs over the internet.
This week, a 22-year-old student appeared in the Dunedin District Court and pleaded not guilty to drug-related charges.
These included importing LSD into Auckland, for which, if convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and 14 years on a charge of importing MDMA (ecstasy) into Auckland. He has been remanded in custody to appear later this year.
Mr McPherson said a large number of seizures were in cities with universities - Dunedin, Palmerston North and Hamilton.
Drugs were often sourced over the ''deep web'', an online haven for criminal activities, accessed with special browser software.
''I think that the [students] think they are safe because they are sitting in their own home, banging away on their computer,'' Mr McPherson said.
A popular website used for such illicit activities was Silk Road, where online users could browse anonymously.
Another danger of buying over the internet was not knowing what you were getting, he said.
Earlier this year, the Otago Daily Times reported ''bad drugs'' - which the buyers had believed to be MDMA - resulted in several people being taken to Dunedin Hospital, and prompted a warning from the Otago University Students' Association.
Yesterday, president Ruby Sycamore-Smith warned those importing and selling drugs: ''You are at university to establish your future, so think twice about short-term gains''.
Mr McPherson said students convicted of buying and dealing drugs, including A, B and C class, could also face having assets and cash seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act and restrictions placed on future travel.
Detective Hamish Barrons, of the Southern District Organised Crime Group, said, it appeared, anecdotally, the number of importations into the Southern District area was ''trending upwards''.
Popular drugs were LSD, MDMA, and other powders, including BZP, he said.
''`Dunedin provides a ready market for these party-type drugs, with its active nightlife scene, due to the large number of young people in the city,'' he said.
Those who used the internet to source drugs did not think of the consequences, and never considered they would get caught, he said.
