Upon discovering the monkey, which was in poor condition, workers at BBS Timbers alerted Biosecurity New Zealand which advised how to remove the monkey.

"The whole response worked extremely well. We were contacted by the business very early and our officers quickly jumped into gear," said Biosecurity New Zealand spokesperson Stu Rawnsley.

"You can't ask for anything more than that when it comes to protecting New Zealand from biosecurity risk."

Rawnsley said this was one of his team's more unusual interceptions.

The species has not been identified.