A big drug bust in Central Otago, involving more than 70 officers, has seen three people arrested and 21 firearms recovered.
One of those arrested faces more than 12 charges relating to methamphetamine, cannabis and firearms.
The police operation exposed an alleged drug syndicate in Central Otago, accused of producing commercial-scale amounts of cannabis in south Westland and bringing meth into Cromwell.
Officers from Christchurch, Dunedin and the West Coast were enlisted for the operation, according to Detective Inspector Shona Low, district manager of criminal investigations.
The bust, dubbed Operation Vintage, included the armed offenders squad, the specialist search group and dogs trained in detecting guns, cash and drugs.
Police executed several search warrants at properties in Cromwell, Tarras and the Haast area yesterday.
During the busts, a significant quantity of cannabis, 21 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were recovered by the afternoon.
Three men were arrested and now face 28 charges.
One man faces eight charges related to the sale and supply of cannabis, as well as the supply of methamphetamine.
The second arrested man faces eight charges related to the unlawful possession of firearms, the supply of methamphetamine, the supply of cannabis and failing to comply.
A third man taken into custody faces 12 charges related to the supply of methamphetamine, the sale and supply of cannabis, unlawful possession of firearms and possession of cannabis.
All three men are due to appear in Queenstown District Court today.
In a statement to the media, said the operation was one of the most significant in the area in recent years.
She said officers had targeted a commercial crime group that had been “pumping drugs” into Central Otago and the West Coast, with the sole objective of making money for the people behind it.
“These communities can be assured that due to this operation’s success, we have dealt a blow to organised criminal activity in the area,” Low said.
Work on Operation Vintage first began in March last year, after police developed concerns about an influx of drugs and associated harm in Cromwell.
After police made inquiries, they were led to properties in the Cromwell, Tarras and Haast areas and to remote areas of Crown Lease land.
They were also led to a property on Department of Conservation land in south Westland, where police found two large plots and several smaller ones.
Cannabis plants in one plot were dotted over an 8km area. The cannabis recovery operation continues.
Low said the suspects had close ties to Central Otago. “There has been a real effort to hide growing sites. They have been found deep in the wilderness, in areas where hunters would be unlikely to stumble across them.
“It takes considerable effort to get to the areas where these plants have been growing.”
Drones from the specialist search group helped police to find areas of interest in the bush and officers travelled by helicopter and on foot, retracing the challenging routes taken by those accused of growing illegal plants.
“Small communities aren’t exempt from organised crime, and this shows the lengths we are willing to go to disrupt that,” Low said.
“This commercial operation was designed to make money for those running it, with no regard for the harm it caused to people at the other end.”
The operation was not about targeting small-time growers but aimed to disrupt a “significant illicit campaign” that brought harm to the small towns of Cromwell and Haast.
“This is not about personal use or low-level offending, this is about large-scale operations who profit from the considerable harm,” she said.
Operation Vintage was the result of hundreds of hours of work and Low was confident the arrests would go a long way to make local communities safer.
“It also sends the message that organised crime is not welcome here.”
Across New Zealand, the large-scale production and sale of cannabis, as well as other drugs such as methamphetamine, generates large income for organised criminals.
It enables those involved to accumulate significant wealth and assets.
Low said gangs and organised crime groups would use the profits from cannabis sales to fund the purchase and sale of more harmful drugs.
“They flaunt their wealth through social media, attracting young people into their lifestyle.”
She also reminded the public that police relied on their co-operation to “stamp out offending”.
“You may feel like the information you have is not significant. However, it could be the missing piece of the puzzle [that] police need to put offenders before the court.”