Five arrests in $500k meth sting

Five people have been arrested for importing almost half a million dollars of methamphetamine in a joint sting between Manawatu Police and customs.

Operation Hydrabad began on September 1 this year when the first of several packages containing MDMA and methamphetamine were intercepted by customs and 432 grams of methamphetamine was seized.

Detective Sergeant Dave Thompson of the Manawatu CIB said two joint customs and police searches of properties in Levin and Waitarere were carried out yesterday, resulting in the arrest of a 30-year-old Levin man after parcels containing a total of 228 grams of methamphetamine, 25 tabs of LSD, and 558 MDMA pills, worth approximately $28,000, were intercepted by customs.

A further $14,000 in cash was found by a customs detector dog at the Waitarere property.

The man has been charged with importing Class A drug methamphetamine, importing Class B drug MDMA and importing Class A drug LSD, and will appear in the Palmerston North District Court today.

A 29-year-old Palmerston North man and three Manawatu women have also been arrested in relation to the operation.

Andrew Graham Hodgson was arrested in September after he was found importing 931 tabs of psychoactive substances and a small amount of cannabis.

He is due to be sentenced on three representative charges of importing drugs on Thursday in the Palmerston North District Court.

In October, two 33-year-old women and a 46 year-old woman were arrested for importing methamphetamine after two parcels containing a total of 204 grams of methamphetamine was intercepted by customs in Auckland.

"When you deal in illicit drugs you risk everything," Thompson said.

"The consequences could see you spend many years behind bars as well as the seizure and forfeiture of any property obtained through the proceeds of crime."

Anyone with information about drug cultivation, manufacture or supply rings is asked to contact their local Police station, or information can be emailed to Central District Police atDCC.Central@police.govt.nz.

Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.