Police say dozens of people have been arrested and thousands of cannabis plants destroyed as part of search warrants. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
Police have uncovered 187 cannabis grow houses in the Auckland region over 18 months and believe there are multiple groups operating them across the city.
In 2024, 97 were located, and 90 had been identified as at the end of June this year.
The figures revealed by Police come as Immigration New Zealand says more than 200 people with valid work visas have been linked to inoperative companies connected to Vietnamese organised crime rings in East Auckland.
Police believe there are multiple groups operating cannabis grow houses across the city.
Dozens of people have been arrested and thousands of cannabis plants destroyed as part of search warrants.
A number of Vietnamese nationals have also been deported.
RNZ can reveal police do not believe the grow houses uncovered are operated by solely one syndicate.
"Police enquiries continue into the operations we have uncovered previously, including working with partner agencies where appropriate," police said.
"Grow houses are not a new phenomenon for Police. These have been around for decades. We have encountered these sorts of operations over many decades right around the country."
Police said the proliferation and size of some operations, particularly in the Auckland region, had changed.
"Police have previously voiced our concerns over safety given some of the dangerous and dodgy electrical wiring that our staff encounter.
"It poses not only a risk to those who are operating the illegal set up, but also neighbours and our staff who turn up to these addresses."
Do you know more? Email finn.blackwell@rnz.co.nz
The presence of syndicates in Auckland was likely proportionate to the population, police said, including the availability of rentals and the ability to blend in given the density of housing.
A grow house uncovered in May. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
Documents from Immigration NZ show staff have worked with police under Operation Clementine to disrupt Vietnamese organised crime rings in East Auckland.
The operation identified 38 businesses of interest.
Immigration and police found 203 people who held valid work visas linked to 11 companies found to be inoperative, or believed inoperative.
Sixty-two offshore visas had been cancelled before the holders were able to reach New Zealand.
A further eight visas were cancelled at the border and eight other passengers were offloaded from flights into the country.
Immigration NZ general manager for immigration, compliance and investigations Steve Watson told RNZ it had been working for roughly three months with police to target the crime groups.
"Our work is focusing on the visa aspect of it," he said.
"After receiving some information, we did a bit of work and commenced a three month operation that involved some accredited employer companies that we believed were employing migrants but in breach of their visas."
Watson said 16 infringement notices had been issued to the companies illegally employing staff.
Thirty-eight deportation liability notices had also been issued, with two people leaving the country voluntarily.
Watson said those with deportation notices were still in the appeal period of the process.
"We are just monitoring them to understand what their next steps are," he said.
"If they don't appeal, or there's no further action, they will be deported."
There were only another couple of weeks to appeal the notices, Watson said.
"What we're seeing here is organised crime working through what appear to be legitimate businesses.
"The way to disrupt that is for government agencies to work together, and lawfully and intelligently share information with each other, in order to disrupt what is actually organised crime behaviour," he said.
Immigration NZ has been working with Police to target the international crime groups. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
Watson urged those migrants wanting to come to New Zealand to do so through official channels or an accredited agent.
"Some of these people have paid significant amounts of money for visas when they didn't need to," he said.
"We would encourage people to follow the correct process, in order to safeguard themselves when applying for a visa."
Significant Grow House Busts since 2023
December 2023
Police arrested 10 people, found 6886 plants and seized 10 kilograms of cannabis with a street value at the time of $16-25 million, through search warrants at properties across Waitematā and Counties Manukau.
Up to $100,000 cash was also seized.
Twelve migrants unlawfully in the country also faced deportation.
Police at the time suggested the crime syndicate was predominantly operating across the Waitematā and Counties Manukau Police districts.
May 2024
Police seize up to $15 million worth of cannabis from parts of rural southern Auckland, arresting nine people.
More than 4300 plants were destroyed in Āwhitu, over 150 destroyed in Runciman and more than 1000 plants were destroyed in Glenbrook.
Four Vietnamese nationals were arrested at Āwhitu.
A further five Vietnamese nationals were arrested at the site in Glenbrook, Police said.
September 2024
Police destroyed 953 cannabis plants and 13 kilograms of cannabis in East Auckland.
An estimated $289,323 of stolen electricity had been used across properties, including in Somerville, Botany Downs, Pakuranga and Ōtara.
Police found electrical fuses had been replaced at the rental properties they searched, some of which were so hot they could not be touched.
They said wires in the affected fuses had melted and they could have caught fire.
October 2024
Officers arrested 11 people, seized and destroyed 3385 cannabis plants and 48 kg of dried cannabis across Counties Manukau, Central Auckland and Waitematā District.
The estimated value of the seizures at the time, based on estimated yield of the plants, was $18m.
The majority of those arrested were in New Zealand illegally, Police said, and 11 Vietnamese Nationals were deported.
What to look out for
Police reminded landlords to be vigilant when renting out their properties.
They asked landlords to ensure there were regular property inspections and to carry out thorough vetting, including obtaining two forms of photo ID and sighting the original document.
They also asked neighbours to be vigilant.
Anyone who noticed suspicious activity, such as deliveries of easy grow and fertiliser bags being dropped off or signs a meter has been tampered with, was urged to contact Police.
- Report any information you have by calling 105
- Go online to make a report at 105 Police Non-Emergency Online Reporting
- Contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
- If migrant communities are concerned with possible exploitation, contact MBIE on 0800 20 90 20
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