Progress on Operation Lime

Police have uncovered a further 23 commercial indoor cannabis growing operations since early yesterday, totalling over 500 plants, 8 firearms, including unlawful military style semi-automatic weapons along with methamphetamine, ecstasy and LSD.

Deputy Commissioner Rob Pope said these seizures were in keeping with the scale of the tentacles of organised crime in New Zealand.

"While this operation has focused on cannabis, it is concerning that the level of involvement of criminal activity covers a range of wider offending. The list of items seized clearly illustrates this and the lengths criminals will go-to to protect their patch."

A further seven people have been arrested today, including a 43 year-old man arrested at Auckland airport off a flight from London. Five other people are still being sought.

Search warrants are still being executed across the country as offenders and members of the public provide information about cannabis operations.

Further seizures include 22 kilos of a drug believed to be BZP - a class C Controlled Drug - and several kilos of dried cannabis ready for sale. Over $200,000 in cash seized will be restrained under the Assets Recovery legislation.

An estimated 6000 indoor grown cannabis plants have been seized during the operation so far along with 60kg of dried cannabis plants.

A number of employees in the businesses visited yesterday were apprehended in possession of or in the process of using cannabis when the warrants were executed.

The offenders have been charged with supplying the equipment for the purposes of growing cannabis. Many shop employees have been charged with selling cannabis clones or dried cannabis plant over the counter, and managers and directors have been charged with participating in an organised criminal group and cultivating cannabis.

All offenders and companies involved have been appearing in District Courts around the country today and released on stringent bail conditions. Businesses and employees charged with offences can keep trading, provided they obtain photo identification from customers of every sale made and keep a register of the sale that will be accessible by Police.

Over 500 Police staff were involved in the Operation Lime termination, from Invercargill to Whangarei.