Police find drugs, shotgun cartridges

File photo / NZ Herald

Drugs worth $25,000, drug paraphernalia, shotgun cartridges and stolen goods were among the illicit items Auckland police found when they stopped three suspicious cars in separate incidents on Tuesday.

Counties Manukau officers stopped a vehicle in Otahuhu about 2pm when they recognised the driver as a drugs manufacturer in the passenger seat, Detective Inspector Dave Lynch said.

More than 250g of methamphetamine with a street value of a quarter of a million dollars, was found in the vehicle and the two occupants were arrested.

Further inquiries lead to a search of a property in Mangere, where additional drug paraphernalia and a number of cellphones were located.

In the second incident, about 3.30pm, officers pulled over a suspicious vehicle without registration plates near Mobil on Wiri Station Road, Mr Lynch said.

A glass meth pipe was found in the car along with various branded clothing items, shoes and grocery items that the occupants admitted recently stealing.

A stolen credit card with which the driver had attempted to obtain petrol was also recovered.

"It transpired that the intention of the two people was to steal petrol from the Mobil station, which is why the registration plates had been removed from the vehicle," Mr Lynch said.

Later that evening a woman was stopped in Manurewa for a traffic infringement. But when officers searched her vehicle more than 30g of cannabis, some LSD, Contact NT and drug paraphernalia a along with a shotgun cartridge were found.

The driver and her male passenger were then arrested on various drug charges.

"We'd like to remind members of the public that police are not the only ones able to identify a suspicious car or person - information about suspicious or unusual people or cars that members of the public can provide us with is invaluable," Mr Lynch said.