A joint effort from Police and Customs found the smuggling has allegedly been going on since the beginning of the year.
Fourteen people -- including six bag handlers and two King Cobra gang members -- have been charged with a range of serious drug dealing and money laundering offences.
NZ Customs Intelligence Manager Bruce Berry says this amount of drugs would be a disaster for the community.
He says 500 kilos of drugs causes around 550 million dollars worth of community harm.