Drug raid blocks Tauranga streets

File photo / Hawke's Bay Today

Armed police cordoned off suburban streets to search an Arataki home for drugs yesterday, locating industrial chemicals and several children inside the building.

Mount Maunganui's Concord Ave and Farm St were blocked off from about 12.45pm as members of the Tauranga Armed Offenders' Squad searched a Farm St property under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

About eight police cars and three fire appliances, including a fire service Hazmat unit, lined the street as officers searched the property. A police dog was also at the scene.

The Hazmat unit is often used when police raid methamphetamine laboratories.

Police officers and firefighters wearing fluorescent orange boiler suits walked in and out of the house as children began to congregate across the road from the house, watching events unfold. Some children played on bicycles.

Western Bay of Plenty police Inspector Karl Wright-St Clair said "a number of children" were inside the house at the time of the raid but were guided outside by officers and well looked after.

Industrial chemicals were also found inside the house.

"Fortunately these were in a safe condition," Mr Wright-St Clair said.

The cordon for Concord Ave was opened about half an hour after the initial raid, while Farm St remained sealed off. However a woman, understood to be the mother of some of the children in the group watching the house, broke through.

She drove past the Farm St cordon twice before parking her car, which had boxes of groceries in it.

She dashed barefoot and in a sarong through the cordon yelling "don't you touch my kids!" and shielded them away from attention.

Mr Wright-St Clair said police would ensure the children were in a suitable and healthy living environment.

A 30-year-old unemployed Mount Maunganui man was arrested.

He was charged with possession of precursor materials for manufacturing methamphetamine and possession of utensils for smoking cannabis.

He was expected to appear in Tauranga District Court next week.

Yesterday's search follows another incident just over a week ago, where police arrested five people following drug raids in Papamoa. Those raids uncovered methamphetmaine, cannabis and property stolen in Western Bay burglaries.

Vehicles and electrical equipment were also seized from people who police claim owed more than $40,000 in outstanding fines.

- NZH