Two men are facing prison time for allegedly smuggling buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken, coleslaw, and french fries into a city in New Zealand under coronavirus lockdown.
The arrest was made near the border of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. Residents there have been under a very strict lockdown for a month that forbids restaurants from opening and even restricts takeout food orders.
“Officers noticed a suspicious looking vehicle travelling on a gravel road and upon seeing the Police car, the vehicle did a u-turn and sped off trying to evade Police,” said New Zealand Police.
The illegal chicken was discovered during a search of the car. Police also found $100,000 in cash.
A photograph of the illicit fast food on a police car showed three buckets of chicken and ten cups of coleslaw.
Photos that will go down in history https://t.co/TMB6hUiFlu
— Kim Baker Wilson (@Kim Baker Wilson)1632111246.0
The two men, aged 23 and 30, could face up to 6 months in prison or a fine of up to $4,000 for violating the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act.
Police described the pair as “gang associates” and said they would face charges for violating the public health order and could face additional charges as well.
86 people in Auckland have been charged with a total of 90 offenses related to the health order, according to 1News New Zealand. In one case, a man was arrested for crossing the border in order to buy McDonald’s fast food and posting a video of his crime to TikTok.
“I got heaps of McDonald’s for my family and friends, it had been forever since I last went there,” said the man.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern issued the lockdown in August when ten cases of coronavirus were discovered in Auckland. The restrictions have been eased since the seven-day-average of new cases fell to 18 from a spike of 66 cases in late August.
Only 37% of eligible New Zealanders are fully vaccinated, while 71% have received at least one shot of the vaccine.
Here’s more about the lockdown in Auckland, New Zealand:
New Zealand announces nationwide lockdown after first COVID case in 6 months | English News
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