{"id":41370,"date":"2025-09-24T20:56:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T20:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/41370\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T20:56:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T20:56:16","slug":"ten-tonnes-of-cannabis-seized-120-grow-houses-shut-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/41370\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten tonnes of cannabis seized, 120 grow houses shut down"},"content":{"rendered":"

A huge Auckland cannabis bust has led to the arrests of 30 people, 10 tonnes of the drug being destroyed, and 120 grow houses shut down. <\/p>\n

The investigation, which took place between late July and August, saw police search 128 properties nestled in suburban and rural communities. <\/p>\n

Police said the houses were “hidden in plain sight” and appeared to be “average-looking” rentals. Some of the properties were found in areas like P\u014dkeno in the south, Pakuranga in the east, Henderson in the west and Torbay in the north.<\/p>\n

Police said the houses were “hidden in plain sight” and appeared to be “average-looking” rentals. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Police found $12,000 in cash and destroyed more than 11,000 plants, arresting 30 – most of them Vietnamese nationals who were now going through the deportation process. <\/p>\n

“So much cannabis was destroyed, four trucks were required a week to cart away cannabis discovered in Waitemat\u0101 district alone,” Detective Inspector Callum McNeill said. <\/p>\n

Officers from the Waitemat\u0101 district carried out a two-week sting as part of the operation, locating more than nine tonnes of cannabis.<\/p>\n

\"Armed<\/p>\n

Armed police during a raid of one of the properties. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Operations targeting grow houses also took place across the Auckland City and Counties Manukau districts. <\/p>\n

In Penrose, over half a tonne of cannabis was found at a warehouse. <\/p>\n

Police in Manukau destroyed more than 140 kilograms of cannabis and 4200 plants.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A map showing the locations of the grow houses. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

McNeill said the busts had denied organised criminals a payday of more than $50 million. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just a small group of cannabis plants located but instead would have gone on to fund a range of organised criminal activities in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

McNeill said grow houses linked to Vietnamese organised criminals had increasingly caught the attention of law enforcement in recent years. <\/p>\n

Police said 97 grow houses had been found by police in Auckland during 2024. In the first six months of this year, police had already busted 90. <\/p>\n

\"Cannabis<\/p>\n

Cannabis plants found during a police raid. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

McNeill said the properties were also creating danger for those who lived nearby. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe know these rental properties are often fitted out with shoddy electrical wiring, fuelled by stolen power which is diverted from other properties.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not only illegal but poses very real dangers to those operating the grow houses and innocent members of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said police had, in “many instances”, been called to house fires where evidence of a grow operation was found. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A man is arrested at one of the grow houses. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Advice for landlords <\/p>\n

Police were working with the rental sector to target and prevent grow operations from starting. <\/p>\n

McNeill said landlords needed to pay attention, as they could risk not getting an insurance payout. <\/p>\n

\u201cLandlords, need to remember they have obligations to carry out due diligence on prospective tenants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf tenants move in and turn your house into a growing operation, you risk being liable in the event of a fire or significant damage.<\/p>\n

\"Cannabis<\/p>\n

Cannabis plants found during a police raid. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that we are finding in many cases private landlords are not carrying out basic checks before or during tenancies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police recommend that landlords carry out reference checks, meet tenants face-to-face, verify IDs, and conduct credit and income verifications. <\/p>\n

\"Some<\/p>\n

Some of the destroyed cannabis is loaded onto a truck. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

He also urged them to carry out regular inspections of their properties. <\/p>\n

\u201cBe aware if tenants have a preference to pay rent in cash or offer to pay more to avoid inspections,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Police urged anyone suspicious of an address to call 105. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe also advise people that if they come across a cannabis grow house, not to enter or touch any equipment, instead alert authorities so the area can be made safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a serious crash closes roads in central Auckland, how smugglers try to sneak cigarettes into the country, and Zelensky\u2019s message at the UN. (Source: Breakfast)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A huge Auckland cannabis bust has led to the arrests of 30 people, 10 tonnes of the drug…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51,67,111,43,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-41370","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-auckland","9":"tag-crime-and-justice","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}