The Herald's War on P series last year produced a strong reaction from readers and a swift response from the Government. This week, we revisit the people and the issues to find out what has changed
The $1.5 billion methamphetamine industry has enabled crime kingpins to spread their influence "into the nice end of town" to make even more money, the Police Association says.
Greg O'Connor, the police union president, said a criminal underbelly was alive and well in New Zealand and was the number one threat identified by police officers.
The serious threat posed by complex and entrenched organised crime was largely a consequence of a failure to attack the methamphetamine trade early.
"The amount of money derived from dealing P means the gangs have got richer, smarter and better organised," said Mr O'Connor.
"They are now firmly focused on diversifying their business and broadening their sphere of influence into the nice end of town, where the opportunities to keep growing their criminal wealth are that much greater."
He warned that corruption went hand in hand with organised crime and its wealth.
"It is unfortunately inevitable that sooner or later we, too, will face a major corruption scandal, as so many police services overseas have."
Mr O'Connor said the Police Association had been calling for a commission of inquiry into organised crime since 2003, and conducted its own investigation last year.
"Even with the limited resources we could commit, what we have uncovered is frightening."
The inquiry found traditional gangs were now only one part of complex organised crime networks involving overseas crime groups, apparently legitimate businesses and multiple inter-linked holding companies and trusts.
The lucrative profits from P had been a huge source of investment capital for criminal enterprise, said Mr O'Connor.
Hundreds of millions of dollars had been laundered overseas and into front businesses.
Divisions between gangs, such as the Head Hunters and Hells Angels, had been erased and the line between the underworld and high society had blurred.
Most of the gang members in prison for methamphetamine offences were "low hanging fruit", he said.
But the recently formed Organised and Financial Crime Agency (Ofcanz) would be dedicated to targeting those at the higher levels and would use a new law to seize assets and unexplained wealth from suspected criminals.
Police have a list of underworld king-pins they will target with the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act, which does not require police to prove any offence has been committed before taking assets - essentially placing the onus on the criminals to prove where they got the assets.
The head of Ofcanz, Assistant Commissioner Malcolm Burgess, said his investigators would be targeting those making money from the drug.
"I'm very conscious that focusing on the commodity is only one part of the issue. From our perspective, we want to be identifying and focusing on the people that we believe are the movers and shakers.
"The nature of organised crime is that it makes a buck, however it can. Probably 80 per cent of that is illicit drugs."
Mr Burgess believed the public would be surprised at the white-collar nature of some of the targets on the Ofcanz hitlist.
"My concern is people are making a hell of a lot of money from organised criminal activity, largely drugs."
