A "significant" police operation has hit Bay of Plenty gangs in their back pocket, culling "a massive source of funding" for organised crime.
In a recent five-day crackdown, officers executed 39 search warrants, seized 29 firearms and made 25 arrests.
"Police have laid a number of drug and firearm-related charges, and further charges and arrests are expected as enquiries progress," District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said this morning.
"Police, assisted by the Armed Offenders Squad in some cases, seized more than 80 grams of methamphetamine, $7610, and recovered two stolen vehicles and a stolen motorbike.
"While executing the warrants, several loaded firearms were confiscated."
The crackdown is part of Operation Emerald, an effort to target the large-scale cultivation of drugs.
More than 11,000 cannabis plants were sprayed, recovered, or pulled from the ground in the Bay of Plenty during the recent operation.
"The plants ranged in size from seedlings to fully grown plants 2m high," Anderson said.
"Police recovered 729 plants at one Western Bay of Plenty address, 1.6kg of harvested cannabis at a Taupo property, and more than 4kg of edibles at an Eastern Bay of Plenty address.
"The Greazy Dogs gang will be feeling particularly hard hit, with more than 2500 plants removed from paddocks surrounding their gang pad and residential properties in Tauranga."
Some of the accused have already appeared at Bay of Plenty courts, while others are yet to be summonsed.
Anderson said the seizures will have an "immediate effect" on gangs and organised crime groups.
"Illicit drug operations on a commercial scale strengthen organised crime groups and harm our communities," he said.
"The purpose of Operation Emerald isn't to target recreational drug users – it's to hit gangs and criminal entities, whose parasitic offending feeds off our communities.
"We're thrilled to have hit their criminal networks and it's pleasing to have results that have interrupted their offending.
"The large-scale production of illicit drugs is a high-risk activity and criminals arm themselves as protection.
"This increases the risk to innocent people and taking so many firearms out of the hands of criminals is only a good thing."
Anderson said it's believed illegal cannabis sales equate to $406 million each year in the hands of gangs and organised crime groups.
"We don't want them here, we don't need them here, and we will target their offending every chance we get."
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