Pounamu theft and the black market

Pounamu (greenstone, or jade) is a taonga legally owned by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu under the Ngāi Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997 — all naturally occurring pounamu within the iwi's South Island territory belongs to Ngāi Tahu. Despite that, a growing black market sees raw stone stolen — much of it from West Coast rivers — and sold online or smuggled overseas.

• Strong overseas demand, especially from China, where pounamu is highly prized, drives the trade; raw stone is reported to fetch roughly $220–$2,200 a kilogram.
• Theft is often local and drug-linked. A West Coast hapū has reported that stolen pounamu is the commodity second-most traded for drugs after cash. Police recoveries are becoming more common — 365 stolen pieces were recovered from the Jackson River in South Westland and returned to Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio in 2025, and Ngāi Tahu reported a one-tonne haul recovered in April 2026.
• First successful export prosecution (2026). A mother and son caught at Auckland Airport in 2024 with nearly 18kg of pounamu — more than three times the 5kg that can be exported without consent — were convicted of attempting to illegally export it to China and fined $5,000 in total. New Zealand Customs called it the first prosecution of its kind.
• Ngāi Tahu wants tougher laws. The iwi has called for stronger export controls and runs an authentication scheme — a unique code and trademark on each legitimate piece so buyers can check provenance — and says online marketplaces are awash with pounamu of unknown origin.

The China connection

Overseas demand — particularly from China, where jade carries deep cultural value and commands high prices — is what makes the theft profitable, and the only successful export prosecution so far involved smuggling to China. In that sense it sits alongside other points of friction in the New Zealand–China relationship, though the thieves themselves are often local. (See the related China's missile test in the South Pacific issue.)