Four arrests over fantasy drug

Four men were arrested and face serious charges after a combined police and customs operation today netted millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs.

Police believe the operation, named MidWest, has disrupted a major drug importing syndicate which brought as much as $3 million worth of the class B drug Fantasy into New Zealand.

Search warrants were executed in Wellington, Rotorua, Auckland and Canterbury.

Four men have been charged with a variety of serious drug dealing offences, including importation of the class B controlled drug GBL, commonly known as Fantasy, said Detective Senior Sergeant Darrin Thomson, of the Wellington Metro Crime Unit.

"Police and customs have been working closely together during this investigation and have identified in excess of 20 importations of GBL that have predominantly been sent to Wellington from China," Mr Thomson said.

"We suspect over 300 litres of GBL has been imported into the country with an estimated street value of between $1.5 million and $3 million."

A street user dosage is 3-5mls and sells for between $20 and $40.

Men, aged 29 and 38 years, were likely to appear in Wellington District Court today.

A 32-year-old man was to appear in Auckland District Court, while a 33-year-old man was to appear in Rotorua.

"We firmly believe we have disrupted a major drug importing syndicate who have been operating for some time," Mr Thomson said.

"Effective border controls have enabled Customs to identify the alleged offending and together we believe we have identified the people behind these importations."

- NZPA