Former policeman on drugs charges

File photo / NZ Herald

A former policeman is one of four people on trial defending serious methamphetamine and cannabis charges.

The charges includes the manufacturing of $2.3 million worth of methamphetamine, commonly known as P.

At the High Court in Rotorua today, Royce Duncan, 40s, and Wallace Bramley, 38, both defended a joint count each of manufacturing methamphetamine and conspiring to supply the drug.

Former policeman and real estate agent Nigel David Walker, 47, denied a count of conspiring with Duncan to engage in money laundering activities in respect of the purchase of a property, namely an industrial unit, at Mount Maunganui's Aerodrome Rd.

The fourth defendant Stacey Helen Clarke, 36, denied a count each of supplying equipment, namely scales, to Duncan which were capable of being used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine.

Clarke also denied a count of possession of cannabis for supply.

The charges against the accused stem from a large scale police surveillance operation dubbed Operation Safari, which was undertaken during March and September 2010.

During the operation, police searched several properties, intercepted phone calls and analysed thousands of text messages between the accused and other persons.

The trial is expected to take two weeks.