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Wellington police are claiming a major victory in the war on
cannabis in the capital.
They have arrested more than 70 people and seized a million dollars
worth of the drug in a series of raids this month as part of
Operation Viper.
Some of the raided cannabis factories were high tech, with plants grown with hydrophonic equipment and controlled by computers.
Detective Senior Sergeant Darrin Thompson of the Wellington police say the factories were multi-million dollar operations.
The haul found was the result of a three-month police operation, involving around a 100 staff and hours of covert surveillance.
Seventy three people are appearing at court as a result of the raids, a number that's likely to swell to around a 100 by the time police have finished
Also recovered from the sites were methamphetamine, ecstasy, shotguns and a stun-gun and equally alarming, children's play equipment set up amongst the plants.
"Hugely disturbing, when you have children in this environment, very detrimental to their wellbeing, we're working closely with other agencies to make sure there's some sort of intervention," says Darrin.
And while drugs like P may grab more headlines, police say over half of drug-related hospital admissions still have a cannabis connection.
Police says cannabis is still a very big problem in the
community and are hoping the sting from Operation Viper will be
felt by dealers for some time to come.
