Attribute to Southern District Crime Manager Detective Inspector Shona Low:
Police have smashed a significant Southland drug operation, thanks to some dodgy-looking crockery intercepted by Customs in Auckland.
Kilograms of drugs, including over 30kg of cannabis, and over $60,000 cash have been seized and two Invercargill men have been arrested and charged.
The operation began at the Auckland International Mail Centre on 6 January 2025, when a package caught the attention of Customs officers. It was declared to contain dining plates, but an X-ray raised suspicions and testing revealed more than 2kg of MDMA had been pressed into plate shape and coated with paint.
The package was addressed to an Invercargill property, and the Southern District Organised Crime Group immediately got to work, gathering information and preparing a search warrant.
On 23 January the Invercargill property was searched, and officers turned up ketamine, cash, ammunition and cannabis. But the most significant discovery was evidence that showed a connection to another Southland address.
Given the quantities of MDMA intercepted at the border and clear signs of a wider drug operation, Police quickly obtained a search warrant for the second property and prepared to search it that same day.
At that address, Police were met with an overwhelming smell of cannabis and found a sophisticated grow set-up, numerous plants, and more than 25kg of high-grade cannabis head, packaged and ready to be sold.
A sizeable amount of a substance, believed to be ketamine, was also located, along with another half-kilogram of MDMA, and more than $60,000 cash.
This is offending on a scale rarely seen in Southland and serious harm has been prevented, thanks to Customs and Police working closely together and acting fast.
This wasn’t someone growing a cannabis plant for their own use. It was an organised, sophisticated drug operation designed to make a profit, without any concern for the people affected or damaged by it. The drug trade feeds people’s addictions and fuels crime by encouraging desperate individuals to steal in order to pay for their next hit.
We know this won’t stop the supply of drugs, it won’t stop organised crime groups or others from trying to profit from addiction, but it will put a noticeable dent in the availability of illegal drugs in the district and the harm caused by them.
We want to thank the highly trained Customs officers whose efforts have contributed to keeping our communities safe.
By the numbers:
- 18kg (40lb) of high-grade cannabis head
- 12kg (28lb) of leaf
- 22 Cannabis plants
- 431g (15.2oz) of MDMA
- 0.46g of cocaine
- 210g (7.4oz) of suspected ketamine
- 6 rounds of .303 ammo, and a magazine
- 8 rounds of .300 ammo
- 250 rounds of .22 ammo
- $60,400 in cash
A 38-year-old Invercargill man appeared in the Invercargill District Court on 24 January, charged with:
- Supplying ecstasy
- Supplying ketamine
- Cultivating cannabis
- Possession of cannabis for supply
- Possession of ecstasy for supply.
He has been remanded in custody.
A 34-year-old Invercargill man appeared in the Invercargill District Court on 28 January, charged with:
- Possession of ketamine
- Unlawfully possessing ammunition.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
