Major drugs bust in Buller
Mon, 8 Dec 2008

A multi-million dollar cannabis cultivation and supply syndicate was busted in Buller this morning in a police sting designed to stifle the cannabis supply chain.

Police searched several properties and made a number of arrests.

The accused were to appear in the Westport District Court this afternoon.

More than 30 marked and unmarked police cars were involved in Operation Marvel, swooping on houses in Westport, Waimangaroa and Cape Foulwind just after 9am.

Police also used drug dogs, and an Iroquois helicopter from Auckland.

About 90 officers from the Tasman, Southern, and Canterbury police districts were in Westport for the operation.

Detective Inspector John Winter would not say how many addresses had been searched, arrests made, or what quantities of cannabis found.

Mr Winter said the sting was designed to strangle the supply chain for cannabis. The busted syndicate was involved in both indoor and outdoor cannabis growing.

He believed it had been operating for some time and was worth several million dollars.

Indoor cannabis had a shorter turnaround time to harvest and had a higher drug content, making it more valuable to growers.

Searches were also made in other parts of the country, but Mr Winter would not disclose where.

Police terminate significant drugs operation
Monday, 8 December 2008, 11:05 am
Press Release: New Zealand Police

Police are this morning executing a number of search warrants in the Westport area in connection with the termination of a major cannabis cultivation and supply operation.

Operation Marvel O/C, Detective Inspector John Winter said that staff drawn from the 3 South Island Districts were involved in the operation which brought to an end a syndicate supplying significant quantities of cannabis into the supply chain.

D/I Winter said that while there had been a recent, and proper, focus on methamphetamine as a source of harm in the community, police were still concerned about the ongoing harm caused by cannabis.

Tasman District figured in the top 3 Police Districts for the number of cannabis plants seized annually, and was 5th on the list of DHB hospitals recording admissions of cannabis-related harm.

D/I Winter said that cannabis was still the most prevalent illicit drug available in the District and police would maintain a 3-fold strategy of reducing demand, strangling the supply chain and community education on drug harm. The operation today was in accordance with that plan.The strategy included a strong focus on major growers of cannabis and this provided the potential to unlock a wider range of criminal offending.

The syndicate targeted by Operation Marvel was involved with both indoor and outdoor cultivation of cannabis. This was significant as indoor cannabis had a shorter turnaround time to harvest, and had a higher THC content, thereby making it a more valuable commodity to the grower.

Police believed the syndicate had been in place for some time and had a turnover in the millions of dollars.

Those arrested today would appear in the Westport District Court at a special sitting at 2.15pm this afternoon. Police were also conducting searches in other locations throughout the country and those arrested as part of that phase would appear in the respective District Courts.

An update will be made available at 2pm today.
ENDS

Operation Marvel update - 1530 hours Monday 8 December

The operation continues in Westport and other locations in both islands.

Those arrested in Westport will appear in the local District Court at 3pm today on a variety of cannabis-related charges. Others will appear in the Nelson, Wellington and Christchurch District Courts. The others charged reflected the supply and demand situation that was necessary for the syndicate to generate profits.

Operation Marvel O/C, Detective Inspector John Winter, said that 3 indoor cannabis growing operations had been located in the Westport area, and power had been diverted at two of those locations. Police were liaising with relevant power authorities to make the sites safe for police staff to continue working in those locations. Power theft was a significant emerging issue in the cannabis cultivation area.

Staff continued with searches at a number of locations in the Westport, Cape Foulwind, Waimangaroa and Denniston areas. A helicopter was being used in conjunction with a number of the searches. Only one firearm had been located during a search at a Denniston address. The searches of properties would continue for at least 2 days and included one major dairy farm in Waimangaroa.

D/I Winter said that the arrests would cause a ripple effect through the Westport area. He said he was sure that many people knew the identity of those involved and that he hoped police would receive further information in the days ahead. The operation sent a clear and unequivocal message to those involved in organised crime that police could reach them and hold them accountable for their actions.

Anyone with information on the cannabis growing scene in the Westport area was encouraged to contact the Westport police.

Operation Marvel swoops in cannabis probe
Giles Brown - The Press
Tuesday, 09 December 2008

An alleged multimillion-dollar cannabis-growing ring has been left in tatters after a series of raids on the West Coast yesterday, police say.

Six people from the Westport area appeared in court on a raft of cannabis-related charges as a result of the raids, with up to 15 others implicated across New Zealand.

A large number of unmarked police cars, a police helicopter and officers from the Tasman, Southern and Canterbury districts took part in the operation, dubbed Operation Marvel.

It began about 9am with police officers searching properties in central Westport, as well as in nearby Cape Foulwind. Properties in Denniston and Waimangaroa, towns to the east of Westport, were also raided.

Police said the raids included one "major dairy farm" in Waimangaroa.

Three indoor-growing operations were discovered, and one firearm was found during the operation.

Police set up a base near Westport's Victoria Park, with a stream of marked and unmarked police cars travelling to and from the park yesterday afternoon.

Detective Inspector John Winter, the officer in charge, said police were concerned about the prevalence of the drug in the Westport area.

"The West Coast is known for the quality of its cannabis. Certainly the Westport area has its own eco-climate, which is good for growing. It's been a problem for us in the past," he said.

The syndicate targeted yesterday was believed to have been running for some time and had a turnover in the millions of dollars.

It had indoor and outdoor operations, meaning it could maximise its profits from selling the stronger variety cultivated under cover.

Searches were done around New Zealand, but Winter would not reveal the locations.

However, he said people who "reflected the supply and demand situation that was necessary for the syndicate to generate profits" had appeared in the Christchurch, Nelson and Wellington district courts.

More people were expected to appear in court over the coming days.

Winter would not say how much cannabis or money had been seized, although a large shipping container enclosing evidence was under guard in Westport last night.

Six people appeared in the Westport District Court yesterday afternoon on a long list of charges linked to supplying, selling, cultivating and possessing cannabis.

Court documents named up to 15 other people as conspiring with the accused.

A 50-year-old man, a 37-year-old man, and a 30-year-old man, from Cape Foulwind, appeared on charges including selling, supplying, cultivating and possessing the drug.

A 38-year-old Westport man and a 28-year-old Waimangaroa man face cannabis charges, and charges of supplying methamphetamine and ecstasy. A 34-year-old Westport woman is charged with selling cannabis.

All six have interim name suppression and will reappear in the Westport District Court on Thursday.