$14.6m worth of cannabis seized

Police say tinny houses are still a problem in the city.

A police operation targeting cannabis growers and sellers in Rotorua and the wider Bay of Plenty has netted more than 14,000 cannabis plants and nearly 10kg in dried cannabis.

The cannabis plants alone have a street value of more than $14.6 million.

The annual operation from January to April was part of the national cannabis and crime operation codenamed Operation Dee, which netted the second best results in nine years.

It used helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft with help from the Royal New Zealand Air Force to spot and destroy cannabis crops growing throughout the season.

On the ground, local police officers were tasked with acting on tipoff information and carrying out search warrants.

Sixty people were arrested for drug offending in the Bay of Plenty, 10 firearms were seized and stolen property valued at $32,000 was found.

In Rotorua, 19 houses were searched and 20 people were arrested, police reported.

Detective Sergeant Mark Van Kempen of the Rotorua CIB said "tinny" houses, where cannabis was sold, were as prevalent nowadays in Rotorua as they had ever been.

He said it might surprise some people that drug houses were not confined to lower socio-economic areas.

"Some of these houses are run by gangs but some of them are also just your normal families and they can be from anywhere. We have been to every area of Rotorua and have done drug raids."

The police's "bread and butter" was a result of tip-offs and it was thanks to residents reporting suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhoods they were able to make so many arrests, Mr Van Kempen said.

Drug houses could be spotted by several vehicles coming and going at all hours of the day and night and staying for only short periods, between two and four minutes, he said. Lots of people walking in and out of a house was also another clue.

"When a member of the community has a suspicion that a drug house is operating, they are normally right. They [the neighbours] do have to be a little bit careful but the best thing is to not intervene and to report it to the police," he said.

"It's always disturbing to find children living in drug houses. That's the most annoying thing for me."

Mr Van Kempen said the establishment of the anonymous 0800 Crimestoppers phone line had helped ensure members of the public continued to call police with suspected drug activity.

He estimated police in Rotorua were being tipped off about drugs around twice a week.

Detective Sergeant Kevin Morshead said the aerial part of the Bay of Plenty operation saw a plane and a helicopter used to fly over forests, reserves and scenic areas to spot cannabis crops.

The Bay region stretched from East Coast to Athenree Gorge to the Desert Rd.

Nationally police seized and destroyed more than 130,000 cannabis plants and almost 80kg of dried cannabis during the operation.

Bay of Plenty police cannabis operation:

- Plants seized: 14,606
- Dried cannabis seized: 9.48kg
- Firearms seized: 10
- People charged: 60
- Value of stolen property seized: $32,000