Attributable to Detective Constable Mat Wood:
Police acknowledge the sentencing handed down in the Christchurch District Court this week in relation to the supply of drugs on the West Coast.
Leo Smith, aged 22, was on Tuesday (29 April) sentenced to 10 months home detention.
Operation Barber started in 2023 after Police received information relating to the supply of class B drugs across the wider region.
Smith was identified as a person of interest, and Police conducted search warrants on 8 March 2024 at two addresses he was connected to.
Police located and seized drugs, instruments, and cash, as well as his mobile devices.
The operation has been hugely successful thanks to the dedication of the West Coast Tactical Crime Unit who were greatly assisted over the last 18 months by Christchurch Criminal Investigations Branch.
As a result of our investigations, we have been able to uncover a number of associates working with Smith.
Several other people were involved in the supply chain and supplying class A-C illicit drugs across the Greymouth and Canterbury regions.
These offenders were unidentified previously, with little to no criminal history. They have now been convicted and more than $90,000 in cash has been forfeited across the wider operation.
Police will continue to hold people to account who are supplying drugs and causing harm to our community.
If you have concerns about illegal drug use in your community, please call 111 if there is an immediate public safety risk, or contact us via 105 online, or by phone, to make a report.
You can also report information anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre