Drugs items in house with kids, court told

In a garage, police recovered a 20-litre container that had an organic solvent and hydrochloric acid in it. Photo / File

Items used to manufacture methamphetamine were found inside a rubbish bin kept in a wardrobe in a home where two children were living, a court has been told.

Jason Stock, 36, and William Wikiriwhi, 52, are on trial in Whangarei District Court on eight charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and possession of precursor substances and materials used in making the drug.

Crown prosecutor Catherine Anderson told the court police who searched the Whangarei property where Stock lived with his partner and two children found a rubbish bin inside a wardrobe in a bedroom.

It contained items such as a plastic container, iodine, glass bottles, sodium hydroxide, plastic funnels and a hot plate.

In a garage, police recovered a 20-litre container that had an organic solvent and hydrochloric acid in it.

Stock told police he had not touched the contents in the rubbish bin and did not know what it contained.

During the search of a property in Auckland, Wikiriwhi was spoken to about the items discovered at the Whangarei address.

His fingerprints were found on the rubbish bin in the wardrobe.

Ms Anderson said the Crown did not have to prove the two men manufactured a certain quantity of methamphetamine but that they made the drug and possessed precursor substances.

The trial continues.