Police to resume aerial cannabis operations a year after national operation was canned stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
National’s police spokesman Simeon Brown said the decision was a “shambles from top to bottom” and that he would have been “furious” to have been kept out of the loop if he were police minister. “The reality is that what was being made here were some decisions which had political elements to them and huge implications with the referendum still under way at the time.” Documents released to
Stuff under the Official Information Act reveal district crime managers across the country supported keeping the operation going, while the 12 district commanders did not. On August 10 last year national organised crime manager Detective Superintendent Greg Williams emailed then acting-Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson asking for authority to proceed with Operation Piano for 2020/21.
Large-scale busts to continue
Cannabis and firearms seized during Operation Piano in Wairarapa last year. PHOTOS/FILE
JOHN LAZO-RON
john.lazo-ron@age.co.nz
South Wairarapa Mayor Alex Beijen has faith in police to keep illegal cannabis growth under control but will be observing how things unfold in the wake of reports that police have put future aerial raids to bed.
New Zealand Police issued a report on Wednesday stating that, with the increased harm drugs such as methamphetamine were having in many communities, a one-size-fits-all annual aerial cannabis operation no longer represented the most appropriate deployment of police resources, resulting in the scrapping of funds for future operations.