Teen charged with assaulting police as they carry out meth lab raid in Warkworth, rifles and ammunition seized

Operation Cobalt police staff seized this rifle as a part of a raid on a rural Warkworth property. Photo / NZ Police.

Police have uncovered a methamphetamine operation in a rural Warkworth property this week, with officers getting assaulted by a teenage girl in the process of raiding the property.

Detective inspector Lloyd Schmid said the “hallmarks of a methamphetamine operation” as well as a rifle and various rounds of ammunition were uncovered at the property after a search warrant as a part of Operation Cobalt.

Operation Cobalt was launched in July to respond to a spike in intimidating behaviour and violence by gangs, particularly the drive-by shootings between the Killer Beez and Tribesmen in Auckland, in the first half of the year.

Operation Cobalt staff, with support from wider police groups, descended on the property on Tuesday and into Wednesday.

Schmid said inquiries are still ongoing into the materials seized to fully establish what substances were located.

During the search, an 18-year-old woman was arrested and charged with assaulting police and obstruction.

“Our investigation is still ongoing into occupants of the address and we cannot rule out the possibility of charges being laid for the items we have located,” he says.

Schmid said methamphetamine continues to play a significant role in creating harm right across the community.

He said raids like these send a clear message to gangs that “their involvement in this kind of unlawful activity will not be tolerated”.