KEY POINTS:
A multi-million dollar cannabis cultivation and supply syndicate was busted in Buller this morning in a police sting designed to stifle the cannabis supply chain.
Police searched several properties and made a number of arrests.
The accused were to appear in the Westport District Court this afternoon.
More than 30 marked and unmarked police cars were involved in Operation Marvel, swooping on houses in Westport, Waimangaroa and Cape Foulwind just after 9am.
Police also used drug dogs, and an Iroquois helicopter from Auckland.
About 90 officers from the Tasman, Southern, and Canterbury police districts were in Westport for the operation.
Detective Inspector John Winter would not say how many addresses had been searched, arrests made, or what quantities of cannabis found.
Mr Winter said the sting was designed to strangle the supply chain for cannabis. The busted syndicate was involved in both indoor and outdoor cannabis growing.
He believed it had been operating for some time and was worth several million dollars.
Indoor cannabis had a shorter turnaround time to harvest and had a higher drug content, making it more valuable to growers.
Searches were also made in other parts of the country, but Mr Winter would not disclose where.
Caption: A police dog handler searching a house at Cape Foulwind this morning.
- NZPA
