Eight arrested over cannabis factory

The cannabis warehouse in West Auckland. Photo / Supplied

Eight men have been arrested following the discovery of a gang-connected, cannabis-growing network spread across Auckland's west.

The arrests came at the end of a two-month police investigation into the operation, described as a "commercial enterprise", and boasting a filter system to disguise the smell of the crop.

Police seized $10,000 cash, 12kg of dried cannabis leaf - packaged for sale and with an estimated value of $270,000 - and more than 100 plants from addresses in Te Atatu South, Waitakere, Henderson, Green Bay and Manukau.

A commercial warehouse in West Auckland had been leased and allegedly converted into a clandestine cultivation hub, which it is understood was complete with extraction fans and filter systems.

Three men appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday charged with possession, supply and cultivation of the Class C drug.

William John Scott, 65, Graeme Kevin Banaba, 44, and Edward Banaba, 27, were remanded on bail until next month.

The other five will appear in the Waitakere and Manukau District Courts in coming weeks.

About 30 police from Auckland, Counties/Manukau and Waitemata districts were involved in the operation.

Detective Senior Sergeant Mark McHattie, the officer in charge, described the alleged cultivation and distribution network as a "commercial enterprise" with a "reasonably sophisticated set-up".