Over the last week Christchurch Police have executed 19 drug search warrants. These warrants are the ground phase of Operation Penny which is the national cannabis recovery operation.
The execution of these search warrants has resulted in 12 persons being arrested and placed before the courts on a variety of drug related charges. A number of inquiries are also continuing.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Johnson says that at one of the addresses where a search was being undertaken, laboratory equipment was located and the national clan lab team subsequently attended.
"Initial indications are that this laboratory was not producing methamphetamine," he says. Inquiries are continuing into this matter.