Five of 20 being sanctioned by US body have criminal links with New Zealand

The sanctions are being applied to 12 individuals and eight entities by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury.

Its aim is to protect international trade - both in the United States and abroad - against the threat of terrorist activities and drug and arms trafficking.

OFAC also sanctions individuals, companies and organisations and prescribes them as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs).

Of those being sanctioned today, three people and two of the entities have direct ties to New Zealand, OFAC said.

It is the first time people connected to New Zealand have appeared on the list, police said.

They include Rokas Karpavicius, a Lithuanian national who was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to supply methamphetamine as part of Operation Falcon in 1999.

He fled New Zealand on a false passport before his court date.

Karpavicius became the primary target of Operation Keyboard in 2008, where he was found to be co-ordinating drug exports of amphetamine, MDMA and LSD, from Europe to New Zealand.

An arrest warrant was issued for Karpavicius in 2009, with an Interpol red notice subsequently issued in 2011.

He was eventually arrested at the Latvian border in December 2011 and extradited to New Zealand in October 2012.

Karpavicius was convicted of multiple drug importation and money laundering charges and was deported to Lithuania in 2016 after serving four years of an 11-year prison sentence.

An Australian national David Thackray was charged in 2014 with importing nearly a kilo of cocaine into New Zealand.

Ho Kai Lueng is the director of the New Zealand registered companies JT Trading Ltd and TNK Trading Ltd and these two companies are among the eight entities sanctioned by OFAC.

Detective Superintendent Greg Williams of the National Organised Crime Group said New Zealand police were committed to fighting transnational organised crime.

To this end police had built strong working relationships with key international partners to disrupt the illicit behaviour of those who had the potential to cause harm in New Zealand.

"This is the first time that the OFAC sanction has been applied to people with a New Zealand nexus and sends a clear message that where ever you base yourself you are not out of reach," Williams said.

"OFAC's sanctioning of these individuals and entities sends a clear message that New Zealand is working in unison with its international partners to stop the threats to our borders."

Any New Zealand business that has an office in the United States is required to comply with OFAC designations.

They must freeze the assets of sanctioned persons or entities, and it is prohibited for them to conduct business with them.

The onus was on New Zealand businesses with an office in the United States, or who have dealings with US citizens, or use US originated goods and services, to regularly check the OFAC list.