A total of 18 people have now been arrested and charged as part of a large-scale Police operation across parts of the Upper North Island.
Officers have spent the day searching more than 30 different addresses, in Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Canterbury.
One of the search warrants was carried out at a tyre shop in Auckland’s Otahuhu, where casino chips, cash and several high-end cars were found and seized this morning.
The search at the shop has continued this afternoon and the rims of the hundreds of tyres in the shop have been removed.
Hidden in one tyre was a bag of cash (yet to be counted but estimated to be at least tens of thousands of dollars) and a kilo of ephedrine (used to make meth) and worth around $120 000.00
In a second tyre was another 2 kilos of ephedrine, worth around $240 000.00.
“This is a huge find and goes to show the efforts that people go to when it comes to meth and the chemicals used to make it. These drugs and money have been well-concealed and were hidden at the bottom of a pile of dozens of other tyres” says Detective Senior Sergeant Lloyd Schmid, Organised Crime.
11 men and 4 women are due to appear in the Auckland District Court this afternoon. They face various charges including;
-Participating in an organised criminal group
-Manufacturing methamphetamine
-Supplying methamphetamine
-Possession for supply
-Supplying class b controlled drug (ephedrine)
-Supplying class b controlled drug (GBL)
-Possession of material (caustic soda) with intent
-Possession of equipment with intent
A 59 year-old man has appeared in the Kaikohe District court, charged with supplying methamphetamine and participating in an organised criminal group.
One man has appeared in the Hamilton District Court on similar charges, and another on similar charges in the Rotorua District Court.
Two search warrants have also been carried out in Canterbury, however no arrests have yet been made there. A shotgun and ammunition was found at one of the Christchurch search warrants, at a property in Northwood.
A total of five firearms have been found throughout the day, at various addresses where officers carried out the search warrants.
Two clan labs were located at rural properties in the Bay of Plenty.
Multiple vehicles, which now also include a Harley Davidson and a Chevrolet Camaro (pictures available on request) have also been seized by the Police Asset Recovery Unit.
ENDS
Det Snr Sgt Lloyd Schmid is available for interview until tonight 6.30pm.
Please call Beth Bates to organise on 021 192 1243.