New Zealanders puzzled by mystery gifts from Paris

Police are investigating a series of mysterious packages sent from Paris to residents along New Zealand's remote west coast. At least four unexpected parcels were delivered to homes on the South Island in the last fortnight, all with Parisian post marks, police said. They contained cash – a €50 note (£40) was in one, a New Zealand $100 note (£48) in another – and a special hair-themed gift: in three cases a brand new hairdryer, in the other a set of hair clippers.

The parcels included handwritten notes, two of which had the words "thank you for being a true friend" scrawled in a mix of lower and upper case letters. There was no obvious link between the recipients, who were left baffled by the gifts, said police. Police said early on Monday the parcels "appeared to simply be a goodwill gesture", but by the afternoon they had begun to suspect more sinister motives.

In a press conference in Greymouth, police suggested the apparently random acts of long-distance kindness could in fact have been a dry run for a money-laundering or drug-trafficking operation. Senior Sergeant Allyson Ealam said New Zealand customs and Interpol had been engaged to help track down the sender of the packages. "We have already been told that the return addresses on each of the parcels exist and we are now checking the names of the senders," she said. Each package had a different return address, she added.

Experts had failed to find any concealed drugs in the parcels, while fingerprints had been taken from the packaging. It was unlikely to be an elaborate marketing stunt, she said. "They all did the right thing by contacting police about their surprise parcels. Maybe they have come from someone who won the lottery over there. Or it could be that it's a nice prank."