Before you report

If you encounter suspicious activity or objects:

  • don’t get involved
  • don't do anything that makes you feel unsafe
  • don’t touch anything – it may be dangerous, and you could harm vital evidence.
Information you should get if you can

Discreetly capture all of the information you can. This may include taking a photo.

Include where and when the activity happened. If relevant, also include:

  • details of people, companies or organisations involved
    • names, addresses and contact details, if known
    • any identifying features
  • document details and/or payment method (if you work in a Customs Controlled Area or shop)
  • vehicle, boat or aircraft details
    • colour
    • size
    • make
    • name
    • registration
    • direction of travel

You may not have a lot of detail. But don’t hesitate to report anything that doesn’t seem right, however minor it may seem. Your tip could make a difference.

If you need to report an emergency

Call 111 and ask for Police when:

  • someone is badly injured or in danger
  • there's a serious risk to life or property
  • a crime is being committed and the offenders are still there or have just left
  • it's happening now or has just happened.

Information on reporting an emergency is available at New Zealand Police

Report suspicious activity

Drugs harm our whānau, our businesses, our communities and our way of life. Your tip could help protect your community from illicit drugs, smuggling and other crimes.

We appreciate all tips. We take them seriously and will act on them. That's why it's vital the tips we receive are genuine. To report any suspicious activity you can: 

  • call 0800 WE PROTECT (0800 937 768), 24-hour confidential hotline
  • complete the online form below.

For privacy and operational reasons, we can't provide you with information on the progress or outcome of our investigations.

Use this form to report unusual or suspicious activity to Customs, in confidence. Answer as many questions as you like. Skip any that don’t apply, or that you’d rather not answer.

The only required part of the form is "What would you like to report?" - that's marked (*) to let you know you have to fill that part in. All other parts of the form are optional.

Customs may use the information you provide about yourself or someone else to investigate and prosecute border-related crimes. Where information provided relates to activity outside of Customs’ remit, we may pass that information on to the relevant law enforcement agency, such as New Zealand Police or Ministry for Primary Industries.

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to request access to your personal information and to request that Customs correct information held about you. For more information about privacy and the information you have provided, view our privacy page.

Note: after you submit your report via the "SUBMIT REPORT" button above, it may take up to 30 seconds for a confirmation message to appear. Please wait for this message - don't click "SUBMIT REPORT" again.