Peters threatens to expose drug dealers

Winston Peters is threatening to name and shame major drug criminals in the Western Bay of Plenty unless the district's police are given a dedicated drug squad.

The Tauranga MP says he has a comprehensive report from an "impeccable source" that shows Tauranga faces a P epidemic, and which names some of the worst criminals still at large.

The issue arose in Parliament yesterday when Mr Peters challenged Police Minister George Hawkins on the absence of specialist drug teams in the Bay of Plenty - despite Tauranga fast becoming what Mr Peters called one of the nation's major P gateways.

This came as police released figures showing crime was dropping across the nation. However, some politicians and unnamed officers claim some crimes were deliberately not being investigated.

Mr Peters told Parliament: "How many young lives have to be ruined in this city before he provides the specific resources which they need to attend to this burgeoning epidemic?"

Speaking later, Mr Peters would not reveal the author of the report or exactly what it contained.

"I can't, at this present time, because of circumstances but we're on to it and I'm saying to the minister, 'if you don't do something, then I'm going to name people shortly'."

Mr Peters pointed out there was no specialist police drugs team from Turangi in the south through to Rotorua and Tauranga and along the coast.

He told Parliament the ingredients for the drug P were bought over the internet and imported through the Port of Tauranga.

It was manufactured by local gangs who had put aside their differences in the interests of making high profits.

He claimed a Bay of Plenty man was involved in supplying P to teenage girls in return for sex.

Also in Parliament, Bay of Plenty MP and National Party justice spokesman Tony Ryall questioned the motivation behind the absence of a drug squad.

"Isn't the truth here that if you don't have a drug squad you don't find as many drugs and that means your crime stats look better?

"Doesn't that explain why drug offences are up in every part of the Bay of Plenty except the western Bay of Plenty?"

The statistics released yesterday showed drug and anti-social offences in the Western Bay were down 4.8 per cent last year, compared with increases of 27.5, 29.8 and 10.2 per cent in Rotorua, Taupo and Whakatane, respectively.

Speaking later Mr Ryall added: "If you talk to anybody at the hospital or at the frontline of the police it continues to be a major problem throughout the Bay of Plenty."

He said emphasis needed to be shifted away from minor traffic offences towards gangs and drugs.

Bay of Plenty police district commander, Superintendent Gary Smith, yesterday said it was "incorrect" to say drug crimes were being neglected.

Last year, Western Bay police had caught 79 methamphetamine criminals - the most in the Bay of Plenty.

The Western Bay had a dedicated drug squad until two years ago.

Mr Smith said the squad of three officers had been disbanded as part of a five-year strategy to halve the amount of reported crime.

Since then, police had instead targeted a wider range of crimes identified as being committed by the most active criminals.

A team of five officers was dedicated to this task, including investigating the methamphetamine trade.

It was not necessary to have staff dedicated to every crime type because criminals did not work like that, instead they worked across a range of offences, Mr Smith said.

He said most gains were made by targeting the person, rather than the offence.

He warned that if criminals were to be named publicly, it had to be done lawfully.

Police were legally able to identify criminals under certain circumstances.

- NZPA