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A napalm bomb at an alleged weapons training camp in the Bay of Plenty prompted police anti-terrorism raids on Monday.
A huge police operation saw raids across New Zealand, centred on the discovery in remote mountain ranges of what police say are guerilla-style training camps.
Armed police converged on a valley inland from Whakatane just as the area was waking on Monday. Police say they were hunting for suspected terrorists based in the remote community.
Weapons were seized from the camps which are based in the forest.
A security source says they received information that people were using napalm at one of the camps in the Ruatoki area.
The source told ONE News that those involved were "not harmless fringe elements" and that police had not option but to move in quickly when they became aware napalm was being used.
Napalm is a highly flammable petroleum jelly used in bombs, rocket launchers and flame throwers.
Over 300 police staff were involved at the peak of the operation on Monday morning and the area was brought to a standstill with all traffic stopped, cars, locals and visitors searched.
In the tiny community of Ruatoki, police were targeting houses.
A handful of people there were arrested including well known activist Tame Iti who appeared in the Rotorua District Court charged with possessing a firearm and molotov cocktails.
Throughout the day locals gathered on the main road as the searches went on, armed police turning their town upside down.
"Well it's a disruption to our community obviously. Well we are builders, we are building up the valley and today we are working and we are locked out of our valley," says a male witness.
Ruatoki resident Vivienne Heurea says police were searching the cars and taking photos of each person.
Police Commissioner Howard Broad says the decision to take enforcement action was not made lightly.
"Based on the information and the activity known to have taken place, I decided it was prudent that action should be taken in the interests of public safety," says Broad.
"The number of people in the camps has been in the tens and those people have been of varying ehtnicities."
All up 15 people have been arrested from the raids carried out across New Zealand.
