Police seize 193 cannabis plants, arrest eight in coordinated raids

Police have made eight arrests and seized $6.5 million in assets, including five property, as part of an operation to dismantle a “sophisticated” drug trafficking and money laundering operation.

Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Dunhill said police were carrying out 10 search warrants in the North Island on Wednesday.

Several cannabis growing sites were found, where 193 plants and nine kilograms of packaged cannabis were seized.

Dunhill said the “ready-to-use” cannabis seized from just one of the sites was estimated to be worth about $60,000.

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Two cars seized as part of the operation had a combined value of $90,000.

On Wednesday morning, police said they have arrested the alleged “pivot” of the operation, a 40-year-old Auckland man who police say has ties to a Vietnamese organized crime group.

Police allege that the syndicate operated in the Northland, Auckland and Waikato regions.

Seven other people, including some foreigners, have been arrested and charged with serious crimes spanning several years.

More than 60 charges have been filed related to money laundering and the cultivation, supply and sale of cannabis.

Dunhill said the operation involved police personnel from several working groups and emphasized ongoing efforts to disrupt organized crime in the country.

“Drugs remain at the center of a world of harm being created in our communities, and we will not tolerate any tolerance for those who continue to amass assets and wealth through the sale of these illegal substances.”

The eight people arrested on Wednesday will appear in the district courts of Whangārei, North Shore, Auckland and Waikato in the coming days.

Dunhill said police were working with Immigration New Zealand in connection with the aliens involved in the investigation.