A landlord couple only discovered their rental in Massey West Auckland, was operating as a meth lab once police raided it and posted this photo of its garage. Photo / Supplied
A landlord couple only discovered their rental in Massey West Auckland, was operating as a meth lab once police raided it and posted this photo of its garage. Photo / Supplied
A landlord couple won $29,000 compensation after their Auckland rental was turned into a meth lab.
Police raided the Massey property in 2023, finding meth-making equipment, a firearm and pseudoephedrine.
The Tenancy Tribunal ordered a $1000 exemplary damages payment to try to deter other tenants from doing the same thing.
A landlord couple who only discovered their Auckland rental had been transformed into a clandestine meth lab once police raided it have won $29,000 compensation from their tenants.
The property in Massey, West Auckland, earlier made media headlines when armed police swarmed it as part of Operation Cobalt targeting gang members and their associates in 2023.
“During our search at a property on Don Buck Rd we came across a clandestine laboratory being used to manufacture methamphetamine,” Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Benjamin Bergin said at the time.
He said his team seized about 2kg of pseudoephedrine, a rifle and ammunition.
Herald photos showed police with a bag of white powder and officers in hazmat suits sifting through the area.
Police took an evidence bag of white powder after executing a search warrant at the home on Don Buck Rd, Massey. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Police also published a photo of the home’s garage with funnels, beakers and a cooktop among equipment they said was being used for meth manufacturing.
The landlords were consequently forced to clean the property and went to the Tenancy Tribunal to get compensation for the cost as well as the loss of rent during that period.
In assessing the claim, tribunal adjudicator Robert Kee heard from representatives of the landlord as well as the two tenants.
The landlords said the tenancy had started on August 30, 2023.
Just a few months later on November 3, police launched their raid.
By November 22, the tenancy had been ended and from then until January 27 last year, the home was decontaminated and repaired.
Armed police also found a rifle during the raid on the home. Photo / Police
Kee said meth testing reports presented by the landlords showed high traces of “pseudoephedrine and methamphetamine in the garage consistent with recent methamphetamine manufacture”.
Results from the home’s master bedroom and ensuite showed signs of high meth consumption, while residue elsewhere in the house indicated meth had been consumed there as well, he said.
The owners also claimed for other damaged items in the home.
The tenants for their part admitted they had consumed meth in the house.
However, they denied manufacturing meth there.
That was despite one of the tenants already pleading guilty to charges of manufacturing and attending a drug rehabilitation programme prior to his sentencing, Kee said.
Kee ultimately ruled that on the balance of probabilities, the tenants had manufactured meth at the home while also using or allowing others to use the drug inside the house.
