Eleven people have been arrested in connection with a West Auckland organised crime ring, police say.
Police recovered 650 ecstasy pills, $11,000 in cash, 700 grams of white powder and a pill press while searching seven West Auckland addresses as part of the 10-month Operation Lunar.
Five Auckland men in their 20s, three men and two women from the Gisborne area and a 24-year-old Hamilton man were arrested on charges including manufacturing ecstasy, participating in an organised criminal group, supplying ecstasy and unlawful possession of a pistol.
The five Auckland men appeared in the Waitakere District Court last Friday and will reappear on April 15.
Police said they have established further links to the Gisborne and Hamilton drug trades, and recovered a further 500 ecstasy analogue pills following the arrests.
