Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Four years jail for indoor dope enterprise

By Imran Ali
Northern Advocate·
17 May, 2015 04:50 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Michael Bouman, 45, paid $42,228 cash to rent a generator over 17 months, to power a Taipa dope growing shed.

Michael Bouman, 45, paid $42,228 cash to rent a generator over 17 months, to power a Taipa dope growing shed.

Grower gets to keep $4125 cash found in bust

A purpose-built indoor cannabis operation was powered by a commercial generator capable of supplying electricity to 10 homes.

Michael Bouman, 45, paid $42,228 cash to rent the generator over 17 months, to power a Taipa dope growing shed. On the day that the commercial operation was shut down, police found 526 cannabis plants. These included 166 mature plants that would have yielded three ounces - $750 to $1000 - per plant. Three ounces, Judge Russell Collins said, was a conservative estimate.

In jailing Bouman for four years, Judge Collins said the operation was commercial, a "drug dealing enterprise on a significant scale".

Bouman was busted after a tip-off during police Operation Lucy in which more than 46,000 cannabis plants, 40 guns and 37g of methamphetamine were seized in Northland.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

His drug cultivation was the biggest haul during that operation.

He had pleaded guilty in Whangarei District Court to charges of cultivating cannabis, possession of cannabis plant for supply, and possession of equipment for cultivating cannabis.

Bouman was sentenced to four years in prison on all charges.

There was some good news for Bouman - his Nissan Terrano had been seized during the March 2014 bust and so had $4125 cash. Bouman got to keep both - the vehicle would be useful for his rehabilitation when he got out of jail, Judge Collins said. As for the cash, the judge could not be satisfied it came from the drug growing enterprise.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

At Bouman's Taylor Rd property, a large corrugated iron and plywood shed had been converted into a purpose-built cannabis farm and divided into four separate rooms.

During sentencing, Judge Collins outlined in detail how the drug dealing operation was set up and the fact Bouman had little alternative to pleading guilty because the case against him would have been overwhelming.

A diesel-powered generator kept in one room with batteries were used to power the cannabis cultivation.

"The generator was a very large commercial model capable of supplying 80 kilovolts of power sufficient to power up to 10 standard households," Judge Collins said.

Discover more

Man 'unaware' of dope plants

01 Jun 07:30 PM

This isn't like CSI, jurors told

04 Jun 12:30 AM

Drying racks were constructed and a clothes dryer installed for the harvested cannabis.

Judge Collins said each of the four rooms was professionally wired with electrical systems leading back to the main switchboard and controlled via a timing system.

Also located throughout the growing shed were cannabis growing equipment that had not been installed which indicated Bouman intended to expand the operation, he said.

"The overall assessment that has to be made is one of criminality of a drug dealing operation and this was a large and determined effort to harvest a commercial and significantly commercial amount of cannabis plant material," the judge said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Court backs sacking of Northland doctor who sent 'flirty texts' to junior

06 Jul 09:13 PM
Northern Advocate

Far North Mayor calls on New Zealanders to vote for Māori wards in October

06 Jul 08:12 PM
Northern Advocate

‘Flying’ through the air: Grandfather's call for safer crossings after crash

06 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Court backs sacking of Northland doctor who sent 'flirty texts' to junior

Court backs sacking of Northland doctor who sent 'flirty texts' to junior

06 Jul 09:13 PM

The sexual harassment investigation led to the doctor taking 10 months' stress leave.

Far North Mayor calls on New Zealanders to vote for Māori wards in October

Far North Mayor calls on New Zealanders to vote for Māori wards in October

06 Jul 08:12 PM
‘Flying’ through the air: Grandfather's call for safer crossings after crash

‘Flying’ through the air: Grandfather's call for safer crossings after crash

06 Jul 05:00 PM
'Serious-to-critical': Crash shuts SH1 in Northland, delays expected

'Serious-to-critical': Crash shuts SH1 in Northland, delays expected

06 Jul 08:48 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP