KEY POINTS:
A Te Puke couple arrested after police found a P-laboratory at their home face life imprisonment after a jury found them guilty of serious drug charges.
Kerry Vercoe, 36, owner of Te Puke Farm and Trail Motorcycles, and his defacto partner Melanie Patterson, 31, a receptionist, were jointly charged with nine drug- related offences and were found guilty on five of them when their trial finished in the High Court at Hamilton on Monday.
They include one count each of manufacture of methamphetamine and attempting to manufacture the drug, which both attract a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, plus charges of possession of precursor substances and precursor materials used in the manufacture of P.
The couple were also found guilty of possessing precursor equipment used in the cultivation of cannabis.
Vercoe was found guilty of three separate charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a 12 gauge shotgun ammunition and possession of cannabis for supply.
He had admitted a charge of cultivating cannabis between January and November 9 last year before the trial started.
The couple were acquitted on charges of possession of methamphetamine for supply and possession of cannabis resin.
Vercoe and Patterson, who had never previously appeared in court, were both remanded in custody for pre-sentence reports and will be sentenced on December 17.
The jury was told that about 7.40am on November 9 police executed a search warrant at the couple's Te Matai Rd home and found them preparing a bake.
Outside the master bedroom police found a metal chemical drum with a metal condenser attached to the lid being heated on a gas barbecue. Given the potential danger posed, police immediately removed Vercoe and Patterson from the address and cordoned off the scene, calling in local firefighters until forensic experts from Auckland arrived.
A thorough search of the address revealed a number of other items associated with the manufacture of P.
They included a plastic bag containing 1kg of iodine, digital pH meters and glass baking dishes containing white crystalline residue, laboratory glassware and a quantity of hydrochloric acid.
Documentation printed from the internet relating to the manufacture of P, a book on the cultivation of cannabis and a number of live shotgun shells were found in the lounge.
In a metal drum outside the address were a large number of empty bottles labelled Robitussin with an active ingredient being pseudoephidrine, while in the garage there were a number of unlabelled 20 litre containers of solvents.
A search of the ceiling cavity above the garage revealed a concealed room being used as a cannabis cultivation and drying area, lined with black building paper and reflective paper to avoid detection and maximise light output. In the master bedroom wardrobe, garage and laundry were other material and equipment associated with cultivating cannabis.
Buried underneath the lawn near the clothesline were two cannabis growing rooms. They were accessed via a small manhole hidden underneath a large concrete paving slab.
Police also searched Vercoe's business, Te Puke Farm and Trail Motorcycles, and found two bags of cannabis head material and a loaded sawn-off pump action shotgun in his utility vehicle parked outside.
When interviewed on November 12 Vercoe told police that the loaded shotgun was being carried for his protection because he had received threats but he declined to comment on the drug- related offences.
- NZH
