Five charged following Hutt Valley Meth investigation

Five people have been charged following a five month-long investigation into the importation of methamphetamine in Wellington.

The Wellington Drugs and Organised Crime team led the investigation, code named Operation Trout.

The joint NZ Police and Customs operation has resulted in nine search warrants executed in the Hutt Valley this week.

As a result, three men and two women aged between 35 and 45 years will face a variety of charges that include importation and supply of Class A controlled drugs and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

Five hundred grams of methamphetamine and two firearms and associated ammunition were seized during the warrants along with other evidence.

“The combination of drugs and firearms is always a potentially lethal recipe for harm and continues to be of grave concern for Police and the communities it serves,” says Detective Inspector Darrin Thomson.

The investigation identified a supply chain of between five and 10 kilograms of methamphetamine imported into NZ from the United States, China, Canada and the United Kingdom during the investigation.

The social harm cost of this amount of methamphetamine is between $20 and $45 million dollars according to the NZ Illicit Harm Index 2020.

“The 30-plus staff deployed into the Hutt Valley this week have made a significant dent in this group’s supply chain and held those offenders to account, as reflected in the serious charges laid,” says Detective Inspector Thomson.