Police in Auckland, New Zealand, say they have seized more than $58 million in criminal assets and destroyed more than 10 tonnes of cannabis during a month-long crackdown on organized crime.
Officers shut down 120 cannabis grow houses across suburban and rural neighborhoods, many concealed in ordinary rental properties in Pōkeno, Pakuranga, Henderson and Torbay. The haul in the Waitematā district alone required four trucks a week to remove the cannabis for destruction.
Thirty people were arrested, most of them Vietnamese nationals who are now in the deportation process. In total, police searched 128 addresses, seized more than $12,000 in cash and destroyed more than 11,000 plants.
“Police efforts have dealt a significant blow to the pockets of organised crime figures and their associates, denying them a payday of more than $50m,” Detective Inspector Callum McNeill said in a release. “This 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.”
Operation Beryl, a two-week sting operation run by Waitematā Police, achieved a nearly 100% strike rate at targeted properties. More than 9 tonnes of cannabis were located in that district alone.
Police said the results reflect the scale and sophistication of the grow-house network and its penetration into residential areas. Further inquiries are underway as the Serious and Organised Crime Group assesses links between the sites.