Meth on menu when house busted

Police found 351 grams of suspected methamphetamine, guns and a stolen car.

A fresh batch of the class A drug methamphetamine was cooking when police busted a Northland P-lab and discovered an estimated $700,000 worth of the drug and guns and cash.

The lab was discovered on Sunday morning when police searched a house on a secluded rural road south of Kaikohe.

Police say a batch of P was cooking when they arrived at the Mataraua Rd property and arrested a 34-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman.

While police were still searching the home another man, aged 38, turned up and was also arrested.

Specialist clan lab investigators from Auckland are still poring over the house but as of yesterday afternoon they had found 351g of methamphetamine, 492g of pseudoephedrine, some cash, a V8 Audi, a stolen Toyota RAV4 and two shotguns.

One gram of P is usually enough to make 20-25 "points" of the drug, each with a street value of about $100. That puts the value of the haul at more than $700,000. Pseudoephedrine is a precursor chemical from which P is made.

Detective Senior Sergeant John Miller, of Whangarei police, said the lab was capable of producing a large amount of methamphetamine. Finding it would put a dent in the market for the drug, he said.

"It was a tidy set-up. They knew what they were doing."

Gang paraphernalia at the house showed the lab was associated with the Rebels motorcycle gang.

Mr Miller said gangs were known to be heavily involved in the manufacture and supply of illicit drugs, including methamphetamine.

"This drug causes significant amount of harm in our communities and we are doing everything we can to stop it being manufactured and distributed," he said.

It was too early to say how long the lab had been operating or how much of the drug it had produced.

The last big bust in Northland was on Taipuha Rd at Waiotira, between Whangarei and Paparoa, in December.

That operation yielded 14 arrests and was sparked when police stopped a Mercedes being driven on an Auckland motorway by two teenage Head Hunter gang associates from Whangarei.

A search of the vehicle uncovered about 2.5kg of methamphetamine.

Police believed the unassuming brick home had been bought especially as a drug lab. In one three-day period late last year $3 million worth of meth had been cooked at the Waiotira house, they said.

Mr Miller said the public could play a part in stopping drugs.

"We've had a lot of information about the drug trade coming through the anonymous Crimestoppers line and would like to see that continue."

Anyone with information about the manufacture or supply of illicit drugs can call their local police station or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

The Mataraua operation was the result of information received from the public.

-Anthony Stillwell, 34, and Brook Williams, 22, appeared in the Kaikohe District Court yesterday charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of equipment, manufacturing methamphetamine, and possession for supply of methamphetamine.

Wini Isaac Ashby, 38, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of utensils for methamphetamine. Stillwell and Williams were remanded in custody until March 10 when they are expected to apply for bail. Ashby was bailed and is due back on March 17.